


Sweet Secret

by Vicky



Series: No Matter What [1]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-09
Updated: 2010-10-09
Packaged: 2017-10-12 13:09:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 39,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/125157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vicky/pseuds/Vicky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John wants Elizabeth to meet someone...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea of this fic while watching Allies, the season finale, though there's no spoilers in that fic. Names' meanings are taken from here. This is the longest fic I've written in English and the 2nd longest fic I've ever written. It took time, but it's finally there. So enjoy! (written in 2006)

_Prologue_

Propped up on an elbow, John was watching her sleep. It was the middle of the night and though he was tired, he didn't want to sleep yet, or he couldn't to be more precise. Thoughts were running in his mind and he couldn't shut them out. So he was observing her.

He loved doing that during the day, and he especially liked to see her blush every time she noticed she was under his scrutiny. But what he liked the most was observing her at night, when she was asleep next to him or in his arms. A few years ago, if someone had told him the womanizer that he was would settle with a woman like her, he wouldn't have believed them, nor would he have believed them if they told him that it would be happening in another galaxy. He knew he was lucky to be with her, and he wasn't ready to screw it up.

They already had their fair share of troubles when the IOA found out about them. It wasn't as if their relationship was forbidden by any regulations; even thought she was his superior, she wasn't in the military and nothing could stop them from dating, he had checked that one out personally. But they were still frowned upon by the IOA and under scrutiny from them. So far, they had both been professional and they couldn't do anything against them. But he knew that one day, they would screw something up and the Comitee would finally have a reason to fire one or both of them.

Right now, he hadn't the IOA in mind; actually, his thoughts were as far away from them as possible. He was thinking about the fact that in a few days time, they would be on Earth once more. Although during their first year they had all hoped to see Earth again, now it wasn't the same. He knew that a lot of them, Elizabeth and him included, didn't consider Earth as their homeworld anymore. Now, what they hope was that they could stay on Atlantis as long as they could.

But, at the moment, he was debating within himself, trying to find the courage within himself to tell her something he had in mind for quite some time now. It wasn't as if something was wrong; actually it could go wrong but he would have to tell her first. He just didn't know how. But he knew one thing: the more he waited, the more difficult it was going to be to admit it to her. If he was honest with her he was afraid that she could reproach him to not have told her sooner, say at their first meeting or when they started dating, but he had never really found the time. So really, it wasn't his entire fault.

Ok, who was he trying to kid, of course it was his fault. He really should have told her sooner. But it's not like he could go back in time and correct his error. No, they would have to deal with it. And maybe, just maybe she wouldn't be too angry with him the day he'll tell her about it, about his sweet secret.

 

 **Chapter 1**

Elizabeth, John and some other members of the expedition were once again on Earth for their yearly detailed report, and for the selection of new members. Since Earth had acquired a ZPM, trips between Earth and the Atlantis base in the Pegasus Galaxy became more convenient, and the two senior members could afford a few days away from the SGC.

For their first real holiday together on Earth, John wanted Elizabeth to meet a special someone to him. Since their first date, he had wanted to tell her about this person but never found the right moment to do so. He didn't know how she would react but decided he had to take the risk; if Elizabeth found out even more lately, she might be angry at him that he hadn't told her sooner. So, taking the chance of a few days of freedom, they took a plane towards Atlanta, Georgia.

John stopped their rented car in front of a small house in the Atlanta suburbs. Turning towards Elizabeth, he took one of her hands in his and looked into her eyes. He didn't know what to say or what to do. He hoped he was doing the right thing by telling and showing Elizabeth the truth but he was unsure. He really wished that it wouldn't break their relationship; these last five months since they first began dating were the best ones he could remember since his childhood and he really hoped it wouldn't end like this. A few days before asking her to their first date, he realized he came to love her more than he loved any other woman. With her, he was ready for a lifetime commitment although this very idea was unimaginable with other women he dated.

Elizabeth could see he was nervous, and she was beginning to be a bit scared of what might happen since he had only told her he wanted her to meet someone. She remembered perfectly well the only other time she saw John this nervous. It was at the end of their first date; he had taken her on one of the mainland beaches for a picnic and when they stood up at the end, they were face to face and John was so nervous that she was the one who kissed him to reassure him.

Like that night on the beach, Elizabeth leaned towards her lover and kissed him lightly on the lips. It seemed to wake him from whatever state he was in and a small smile graced his lips. She brought her free hand to his cheek and he turned his head slightly, kissing her palm.

"Elizabeth… Before we go in there, I just want you to know that I'm sorry I haven't told you sooner."

"What is it, John? God, you're scaring me!"

"I'm sorry. I promise you, it's not a bad thing... At least, I think it's not. I just don't know how you'll react."

"Why don't you tell me, then?"

"I'd rather show you. Come on, let's go."

John left the car, quickly followed by Elizabeth. Hand in hand, they walked up the path to the house. Once in front of the door, he squeezed her hand one last time before knocking. A few noises were heard from inside, followed by footsteps before the door was cracked open.

Elizabeth saw no one at first but then, she lowered her gaze and noticed that the door was opened by a little girl. Elizabeth estimated she could be no more than five or six.

"Abby, how many times have I told you to not open the door yourself?" The young woman who came rushing behind the girl stopped when she saw the pair. "John!" she exclaimed, engulfing the said man in a hug.

Elizabeth couldn't help the pang of jealousy she felt seeing John being hugged by another woman, but she tried to reason with herself; John was with her and she couldn't doubt his feelings. Breaking the embrace, John bent over and picked up the girl, kissing her soundly on the cheek which made her giggle. He then seemed to be whispering something into her ear but Elizabeth couldn't catch the words. Another feeling took the place of the jealousy in her chest; now more than before she feared what he wanted to tell her.

Finally, John turned towards her, the little girl still in his arms.

"Abby, this is Elizabeth. Elizabeth, I want you to meet Abby, my daughter."

Elizabeth was left speechless by John's words; she had played a lot of scenarios in her head but, she never imagined that one.

"Elizabeth, you ok?" John enquired.

"Yeah… I'm sorry, I was… Hi Abby," she greeted the girl, who buried her head in her dad's neck, instead of replying.

"She's shy," he explained. "And this is Dinah, Abby's godmother and her mom's best friend and housemate."

"Nice to meet you, though I couldn't say that John talked about you."

"Likewise. Why don't you two come in?"

She gestured for them to enter and John directed them to the living-room. They sat on the couch, Abby on his lap, and Dinah settled down in an armchair. Elizabeth was still feeling uneasy and was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Looking at John's daughter, she noticed that she had his eyes and the same hair colour, though hers was not unruly like her father's. If someone had asked her opinion, she would have said that she didn't know what she inherited from her mother; Abby seemed to be a girlish mini-replica of John.

"By the way Dinah, where's Clare?"

Dinah's face became gloomy at John's question.

"I tried to reach you, I really tried, but I've never found you. Nobody knew where you were."

"What? What happened? Dinah?" he asked hastily, understanding that something bad had happened to his daughter's mother.

"She was in a car accident. A drunken driver hit her car. They said she… They said she died instantly."

"Oh my god...," John whispered.

He slightly tightened his grip on his daughter, keeping her close to him. Elizabeth closed her eyes, feeling sorrow for a woman she never knew, but who had a great place in the three other people's lives.

"When?" she heard him ask, before opening her eyes.

"Eight months ago. You never told us where you were. Listen, I don't blame you, I just wish I'd have been able to tell you sooner."

"I'm sorry. I know I should have left an address where you could have contacted me. I…"

"It's okay, John. I took care of everything."

"How did Abby react?"

"As well as she could. She understands that her mother will never come back. The first few weeks were difficult; she kept asking about Clare. She had nightmares too; she still has some from time to time. I've never taken her to the cemetery; I know it's her mom, but it's not a place for such young children in my opinion."

"You're right. Oh… Elizabeth, I'm sorry, I nearly forgot about you," he said, remembering her presence.

"It's okay. I understand," she said with a slight smile, taking one of his hands in hers. "So, uh… How old is Abby?" she asked, trying to change the conversation, for which John was grateful. "I'm guessing five, maybe six years old?"

"She just turned five last month. She'll start kindergarten in September."

"Since we're talking about this, I have something for you in the car, sweetie."

He stood up, settling Abby down on the couch, beside Elizabeth. He was leaving the lounge when his daughter's voice made him turn back to her.

"Daddy, stay."

"I'm coming back. I just have to go to the car outside. Stay with Elizabeth and Dinah, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, pouting.

"John, why don't you get yours and Elizabeth's bags also? You can stay in the guest room."

"Well, we were going to stay at the hotel…"

"You know you can stay here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, I'm sure Abby doesn't want her father to leave her every night."

"Elizabeth?" he asked his companion.

"She's right. It would be better for Abby to have her dad with her."

John nodded and went out to retrieve their bags. Left alone with Abby and Dinah, Elizabeth was feeling even more nervous than before; the little girl never really acknowledged her presence. Dinah's voice broke her out of her thoughts:

"I know your mind must be full of questions, and I also know that you may not ask John for answers so, I'm going to tell you. John and Clare had never really been together. It was just a one night stand but it turned out that Clare got pregnant with Abby. She told him and he just took his responsibilities. John is a fantastic father with Abby; she's daddy's little girl and has him wrapped around her finger."

"I can imagine," Elizabeth said, smiling gratefully at the younger woman. "She looks so much like him!" she added, looking down at the girl sat beside her.

"Yeah. She definitely took after him which sometimes caused some problems…"

"Don't I know that!" she exclaimed, exchanging a knowing smile with Dinah.

"You and John work together? You're also in the USAF?"

"No, I'm a civilian and diplomat. And I happen to be John's boss so yeah, I know how much trouble he can cause sometimes."

"Excuse me if I'm indiscreet, I swear I'm too curious for my own good sometimes, but how long have you two been together?"

"It's okay. We've been together for a little more than five months."

"I'm back!" John said, closing the door behind him.

"Daddy!" Abby cried, jumping of the couch.

"Here," John said, kneeling in front of her. "It's for you kiddo. I've left the bags by the door," he said, standing up and turning to Dinah.

He went to sit back on the couch beside Elizabeth, sliding an arm across her waist and kissing her lightly. Meanwhile, Abby was sitting on the floor, ripping off the paper and opening the box containing John's present. She took what was in the box out and, Elizabeth's could see bird-shaped pieces of wood; she guessed that John had asked one of the Athosians on the mainland to make them for him.

"Wow, John, it's beautiful!" Dinah exclaimed seeing them.

"Yeah. Sweetie, I know it's not a toy but you could still play with them."

"Thank you, Daddy," she said and John leaned over so she could slide her arms around his neck, as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"I think it's time for your nap," Dinah said standing up.

"No, no, no" she replied shaking her head. "Wanna stay with Daddy."

"Nope, Dinah's right, you have to take your nap," John said standing up with Abby still in his arms, her eyes half-closed despite her protests. "I'll tuck you in, ok?"

When John came back a few minutes later, he could see that Dinah wanted to tell him something. Resuming his seat next to Elizabeth, he draped his left arm around her shoulders and turned towards his friend.

"What is it, Dinah? There's something more, isn't there?"

"Yeah. Shortly after Abby's birth, Clare went to see a lawyer to put down her will. She wanted to be sure that Abby would be taken care of if something happened. I didn't know about it; I found out at her death," she paused, knowing there's no good way of saying this. "She wanted you to take Abby, John."

"What?" he said, surprised.

"This was also why I tried to reach you, to tell you that."

"But, you're her best friend and Abby's godmother, why…?"

"And you're her father. Believe me when I tell you that I love Abby as if she was my own daughter, but Clare was right, she has to stay with you. A judge entrusted her with me for the time being, and you'll just need to sign some papers whatever way you choose."

Elizabeth was surprised by Dinah's revelation and she could say the same went for John; she had felt his grip on her shoulder tighten when he learned the news. She knew that thoughts were running in John's head but she didn't know what to do to help him; things considered she couldn't as much as she'd want to.

Dinah knew that the couple needed some time alone to process the news so she stood up and turned towards them.

"I'm sorry but I have to leave you alone for an hour or so. I have to do some shopping for tonight's dinner."

She left the room then the house, closing the door behind her.

Elizabeth didn't know what to do or say. She was still stunned by Abby's appearance in her life and if she was honest, maybe a little angry at John for not having told her sooner. Finding out that her companion had a daughter with another woman wasn't the idea Elizabeth had of this holiday. Nevertheless, a part of her understood why John kept it a secret until now. She doubted that anyone else knew about it and he simply wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible, even between them. Who knows, if they weren't together, she might have never known.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when John gently kissed her right temple. Turning towards him, she saw that he was worried and managed a small smile.

"Are you angry at me? I know I should have told you sooner, I know that, believe me, but…"

"It's ok, John, I understand. But yes, I have this feeling; I don't know what it is exactly, anger, or disappointment because you didn't trust me with this before."

"I'm sorry, I really am," he said the last part with his lips close to hers and then kissed her passionately, leaving both of them breathless.

"Why didn't you send them a message when Rodney managed to open a wormhole back to Earth?" she asked; this question was on her mind since she found out.

"What would I have said? 'Hey, it's Daddy, I'm not sure I'm gonna make it'? I would never have done that to them."

Elizabeth just nodded in response while John pulled her into a tight embrace.

"You ok?" he asked her, even though he knew her answer would be negative.

"I'm not sure, John. It was a lot to take on such a short notice."

"I know," he simply said as she broke up the hug and stood up. "Elizabeth?"

"I need to go for a walk. I need to think."

"Ok," he said, standing up himself. "I would have kept you company but…"

"You can't leave Abby by herself. Besides…, you have a lot of thinking to do too."

"I guess… Will you be ok? After all, you have never been here."

"I'll be fine, John," she reassured him, kissing him before opening the door. "And if I ever get lost, I'll call you."

"Be safe," he whispered to her as she crossed the threshold which made her turn back to him. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just that usually, it's the other way around."

Smiling at him, she turned around and resumed her walk down the path. John followed her with his eyes for a minute or two and then closed the door. He climbed up the stairs and opened the door to his daughter's room. Looking at her sleeping peacefully, he knew Elizabeth was right; he had decisions to make. He sat in the dark beside the little bed, silently praying to God to give him answers.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was walking down the quiet streets, lost in her thoughts; someone could have called her, she wouldn't have heard them. The last two hours were probably the weirdest in her life. While she was feeling confident when they landed into Atlanta airport, now doubt filled her. She knew John had to make a decision about Abby and, she would never ask him to choose between her and his daughter. Deep down inside herself, she was really afraid to lose John for the first time. She knew that there was always a risk when he left for a mission but this time, it was different. If she was honest to herself, she already knew what John's choice would be; she saw it in his eyes. She just couldn't help but hope that she was mistaken.

She stopped while passing by a park. Children were playing under their parents watch, running or swinging, playing football or throwing a ball to their dog. This reminded her of her own dog, still waiting for her at Simon's. She didn't really want to see him but she also knew that she'd have to take Sedge back one day or another and thus face him. She knew that she was over with him, she had John now and she probably loved him more than she had ever loved Simon; maybe it was time to undo the last bond she had with him by getting her dog back.

Deciding to stay there for a moment, she sat on a bench beside a woman with a baby in her arms. Watching children play, she couldn't help but imagine Abby, John and her together. Even though she didn't know the little girl, she took a liking to her; maybe because she looked so much like John. She felt that Abby was distant but she hoped that whatever happened they could get to know each other. Maybe she was a little selfish here but she really wanted John's daughter to like her.

Turning her head towards the woman who shared the bench with her, she noticed that she was also looking at her and smiled in return.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to stare but it's the first time I've seen you here. I'm Jess by the way and this," she said looking down at the baby in her arms, "is Michael."

"Elizabeth," she replied, shaking Jess's free hand.

"So, you're new in the neighbourhood?"

"No. I'm just here with my companion to see his daughter," she answered, hesitating slightly on the last word.

"You didn't know about her, huh?" Jess asked and she got her answer in Elizabeth's eyes before adding, shaking her head, "Men are such cowards, sometimes."

"No! Not John. He's not like that; actually, he's all the contrary usually. He just didn't know how to tell me."

"So, pardon my curiosity, but why aren't you with them?"

"I just needed to think about that for a while. It was a lot to take at the same time."

"I can imagine. Yesterday, there were just the two of you and now you're three."

"Yeah. It's kind of distressful. Oh, I'm sorry to bother you with my problems. We don't even know each other and…"

"Don't worry," Jess interrupted her, "I'm a mom at home with problems of her own and I know how good it is to vent at someone, and especially if you don't know them."

"In that way, thank you for having coped with me. I'd better go back now," she said standing up.

"Maybe we'll see each other again one day and I hope everything will turn out ok for you."

"Maybe… And thanks."

They bid their final goodbyes and Elizabeth began to retrace her steps towards the house. She was still dreading John's decision regarding his daughter but also knew that they'd work things out. Somehow, Jess managed to restore some of her confidence in their relationship.

Meanwhile, at the house, John was still watching Abby sleeping, lost in his own thoughts. And lost he was. He was still unsure of what to do; two options arose, each of them meaning that he had to give up on one of his two precious loves. Unbeknownst to him, Abby started to stir and opened her eyes.

"Daddy?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"Hey, baby," murmured John, sitting on the bed and Abby put her head on his lap. "Why don't you sleep for a few more minutes?"

"No. I wanna play with you. Please…," she said with puppy-dog eyes.

"Ok. Let's hope that Dinah won't be angry at us for that. Come on," he added, standing up, with his daughter in his arms.

"I love you, daddy," Abby whispered in his ear, tightening her hold onto him.

"I love you too," he whispered back, now knowing what his choice would be.

When Elizabeth knocked on the door a few minutes later, nobody came to answer it. Not wanting to wake up Abby in case she was still sleeping, she tried the knob and the door opened. Straining her ears, she heard a faint sound coming from the backyard and headed towards it.

There, she saw John and Abby, playing football. She couldn't help but smirk at the sight of them. Father and daughter were so enthralled in their game that they neither saw, nor heard her. She let out a small giggle, shaking her head.

"You're already trying to corrupt her?"

"Come on, Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, not surprised by her presence and she realized that his military skills probably told him she was here from the first few seconds. "Football is the best sport in the world! You'll have to admit it one day!"

"I don't think so," she said, narrowing her eyes at him before turning towards Abby. "Do you like football?"

"It's okay," she answered shrugging her shoulders. "But I prefer dance."

"I'll tell you a secret," Elisabeth started, crouching in front of the little girl, "I prefer dance to football too."

"Hey, you two! Would you stop ganging up on me?"

"I don't think so…," she replied with a grin plastered on her face and she stood up and brushed her lips against John's.

"Daddy, I'm hungry."

"Ok, let's go inside and see if there's something to eat."

One arm around Elizabeth's waist and his other hand in his daughter's, John steered them towards the kitchen, making them sit at the counter while he checked the cupboards.

"Let's see what we have here… Anybody wants cocoa?" he asked turning around in time to see Abby nodding vehemently.

"I'll do it," Elizabeth said, standing up. "But you'll have to tell me how you want it, young lady."

"Ok."

Watching his two favourite girls, John held back a sigh. He really wished things could be this way every day, but he also knew it was impossible. Gazing up from what she was doing, Elizabeth caught his eyes and smiled at him.

Just as he was going to say something, the front door opened and a very familiar voice resounded.

"I'm back!"

"We're in the kitchen," John replied.

"Is it cocoa I'm smelling?" Dinah said, entering the room.

"Yeah, Abby and I are doing some. Would you like a cup?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I hope you bought some cookies 'cos there aren't any," John said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, John, I have them. Here, help me put away the groceries."

"Aw, Mom but I don't want to!" he whined.

"John, stop acting like a child around your daughter."

"Fine," he grumbled before turning to face Elizabeth and Abby who were giggling. "No giggling you two!"

A few minutes later, they were all sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on their cocoa and eating chocolate cookies. Once he saw that Elizabeth finished her cup, John took her hand and motioned at her to follow him outside.

They stood in the middle of the backyard in silence, both knowing why they were there but neither knowing what to say. Finally, John opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by Elizabeth's finger on his lips.

"It's ok. I know. I understood when I saw both of you playing. You're going to keep her and stay with her here."

"Yeah," John only whispered, not knowing what to add. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment.

"Don't be. Would I have been faced with this choice, I'd probably have made the same decision that you have. She needs you."

"And I need you too."

"I'll be there. Just not right there. It's not because you won't come back that we can't be together anymore, right?"

"Right. It would be a long distance relationship."

"A really long distance one," she said in a laugh before hugging him.

John slid his arms around her, keeping her close to him. He knew that he made the right choice for his daughter but it still hurt thinking that he wouldn't see Elizabeth everyday, that he couldn't protect her anymore.

Back in the kitchen, Dinah watched the couple from the window; she was feeling guilty for having imposed this choice on John. But she didn't have much choice herself; it was Clare's will.

"Dinah?" the little voice asked and she turned her hand towards her. "Why's daddy crying?"

Surprised, Dinah looked from Abby to John and she could actually see some tears making their way down from his eyes; to say she was shocked wouldn't be enough.

"I'm going to see him," Abby said before jumping down from the chair.

"No, stay here," the older woman replied, grabbing her arms. "Let them have some time together."

Outside, the couple was now kissing slowly, softly, murmuring words of love to each other.

That night, after having put his daughter to sleep, John came in the room he was sharing with Elizabeth to find her sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him. She stood up as he closed the door and locked it, silencing him by a chaste kiss. Putting her hands on his chest, she looked at him in the eyes and whispered.

"Make love to me, John," she begged him and he didn't need to be told twice.

That night, they made love slowly, as if it were the first time they saw the other's body. They fell asleep in each other arms, her head resting on his chest, just above his heart.

John woke up the next morning to see Elizabeth, already dressed, sitting on his side of the bed.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

"Hey, yourself," he replied before drawing her towards him for a morning kiss. "You're up early," he said, checking what time it was.

"I have a plane booked in three hours."

"What?" he cried out, shock evident in his voice.

"I'm going back to the base."

"Why?"

"Because it will be better. And I have to inform Generals Landry and O'Neill that you're not coming back; this way they could think about a replacement."

"Why don't you call them instead? I don't want you to go now."

"I don't want to but I have to, John. Please, understand my decision. I have to sort things out in my head."

"I guess I don't have much say in the matter anyway. You would be leaving whether I agree or not."

She just nodded and John could see she was on the verge of tears. He took her in his arms, holding onto her as if his life depended on it. They stayed like this for a long moment, neither of them wanting to let go but Elizabeth, knowing that the sooner would probably be the better, slowly broke the hug.

"I'm going to ask if I can bring Sedge back with me. This way, I'll still have someone to keep an eye on me."

"Yeah, you'll do that. Let me get dress and I'll drive you to the airport."

"It's ok, I've booked a taxi; it should be here in half an hour."

"Ok…"

Right on time, half an hour later, a taxi pulled up in front of the house. Elizabeth said her goodbye to Dinah and Abby while John took her bags and went with her outside. The taxi driver put them into the trunk and took back his place, waiting for her.

Once again, the two hugged tightly, sharing a few kisses before John rested his forehead on hers.

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Write me from time to time, ok?"

"I promise. You better go or you're going to miss your flight. Not that I would mind," he added with a smirk, making her chuckle a bit.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Liz," he whispered back, using the nickname he gave her on their first date.

Pulling back from his arms, she got into the taxi and the driver drove off.

Watching the taxi go away, John, not for the first time, was wondering if he did make the right choice.

 _To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 

A few days later, Elizabeth was found in the office the SGC provided her during her stay on Earth. She was trying to work on the new members' files but she couldn't. She could still remember the face Landry had made when she told him that John wouldn't come back with them. He had immediately called O'Neill and she had had to explain his reasons to both of them, which they had, of course, perfectly understood. Two days later, they had indeed received a letter from John where he resigned his commission. Now, they needed to decide who was going to replace him. Caldwell's name had of course come up first but, when asked through a gate communication to Atlantis, he declined the offer, to Elizabeth's surprise; she suspected that the scientists were driving him crazy. Despite Landry and O'Neill's requests, she hadn't wanted to take part in the selection of the new military leader, despite the fact that she would be working in close quarters with them.

Looking up from the file she was reviewing, she smiled at the sight before her; Sedge was lying peacefully in a corner of the office. She managed to convince both of the generals, the president and the IOA to let her take her dog to Atlantis. She hadn't wanted to back down on this point and she had won in the end. Facing Simon when she had to go to get her back had been less difficult than she had thought, at least for her. She had noticed some pain in his eyes when she said goodbye, probably for the final time, but she couldn't help but think that after all he was the one who left her in the first place.

Thinking about Simon made her think about these last five months with John and how she had lost him now, somehow. She knew that she hadn't really lost John; they were still together, they just wouldn't be together everyday anymore. Despite herself, a tear made its way down her cheek and she wiped at it, shaking her head to try and clear her mind from those thoughts. Feeling that her owner was sad, Sedge got up and went to her, putting her head on her lap. Looking down, Elizabeth smiled at her and patted her head.

"I'm ok, Sedge, don't worry. You'll see, Atlantis is a wonderful place and one day, I'll take you to the mainland. There are children there and they'll be happy to see you."

A knock on the door of her office prevented her from continuing.

"Come in."

"Am I interrupting you?" Sam asked, opening the door.

"No, not at all. Please, take a seat. Can I do something for you, Colonel?"

"It's Sam, please," she replied and Elizabeth nodded in response. "I just came to see how you were. Daniel told me about John staying on Earth…"

"I'm fine," Elizabeth answered with a small smile. "Well, as fine as I can be given the circumstances."

"But you're still together, right?"

"Yeah. It will be a very long distance relationship but it'll work, it has to."

"Well, long distance relationships work; you'll just beat a record."

"That we'll do!" Elizabeth chuckled slightly before sobering up. "And unlike others, we couldn't see each other every week or at least once a month, nor could we talk on the phone."

"I heard he stayed because he has a daughter…," Sam said, not really sure if she could ask this.

"Yeah. Her name's Abby, she's five years old. She looks so much like him and from what I heard, she could cause as much trouble as him," she let out a giggle at the last part.

Sam just nodded, not really knowing what to say. Both women smiled at each other; they were still a little awkward around each other. The first time they met, Elizabeth was replacing General Hammond and it wasn't an easy thing to do. But since Elizabeth left for Atlantis, every time they saw each other, they tried to improve whatever they had between them.

"Well, I'd better go," Sam said, standing up. "McKay wants me to go over some of his reports about Ancient technologies you found in Pegasus."

"I'm sure you'll find that fascinating. And Sam," she called as the other woman was opening the door, "congratulations."

"Thanks," she replied with a smile, putting a hand on her stomach as she left Elizabeth's office.

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth immersed herself in the files again, wanting to know at least everyone by their name by the time they were going back to Atlantis.  
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Dinah was worried about John; she never saw him like this. When he wasn't with Abby, he seemed to be distant from everything and sometimes, he acted this way within his daughter's presence. She knew that Elizabeth's leaving affected him more than he admitted and deep down, she wondered why he stayed. She knew he loved Abby, but obviously, Elizabeth held a great part of his heart too. Seeing him now, sitting in a chair in the garden, looking at his daughter but not really seeing her, she decided it was time to talk to him. She sat in the chair beside him and waited for him to acknowledge her for a few minutes.

"Why are you here?" she finally asked, growing impatient.

"What?" he replied, surprised by her presence.

"I asked you why you are here," she repeated.

"I'm watching Abby play, why?"

"Not here, here. I want to know why you're here since you obviously want to be somewhere else… With Elizabeth," she added as an afterthought.

"What makes you think that?"

"Your attitude. You stayed here because of Abby…"

"Because I wanted to," he interrupted her. "She's my daughter; I have to be there for her."

"You feel obliged to stay here for Abby. John, I'm not saying you don't love her, I know you do, but you also love Elizabeth as much as you love Abby. You need her, you need both of them. I never saw you as happy as you were when Elizabeth was there. Why don't you and Abby join her?"

"I can't. It's not a place for children. And even if I wanted to go back there with Abby, my superiors wouldn't let me."

"You didn't ask them, how can you be so sure?"

"Believe me, I know."

"So what? You're going to stay where you're not happy instead of doing everything you can to join the woman you love, to have a real family life? I'm disappointed in you, John" she finished, standing up and going back inside.

"So am I, so am I…" he whispered, looking towards the sky.

He sat there till nightfall when Dinah asked him and Abby to come back inside. During dinner, he stayed silent aside from when Abby talked to him. The little girl realized that her father wasn't really there with her but, contrary to her godmother she didn't know why. Like every other girl of her age, she was just glad to have her dad at home.  
John kept pondering what Dinah told him earlier and even though he knew she was right, he also knew he couldn't do anything.

"John, there's a call for you," Dinah called as he was tucking Abby in.

"I'm coming! Sleep tight, sweetie," he whispered, kissing her lightly on the nose.

"Daddy? Did you love Mommy?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Because you never kissed her like the other woman."

"We loved each other in a way, but it's true I've never loved her like I love Elizabeth. But even if we didn't love each other, we didn't love you any less. You know I love you, huh?" he asked, tickling her

"Stop it Daddy!" Abby said, laughing through John's ministrations. "I love you," she finally said between two breaths.

"John! They're still waiting!" Dinah called once again from downstairs.

"Coming! I have to go and you have to sleep," he said, kissing her forehead one last time before standing up and leaving the room.

Back at the SGC, it was just past midnight when Elizabeth decided to call it a night after having finished reviewing the new members' files. In her quarters, while getting ready to go to bed, she realized that in three days, she would have to go back to Atlantis without John. Tears filled up her eyes but she contained them, knowing that she couldn't do anything about it. A lump in her throat, she went to bed and willed her thoughts to go away so she could sleep.  
In the wee hours of the morning, she was awoken by someone's hand in her hair. For a moment, she smiled, thinking it was John, but knowing it was impossible, she opened her eyes, wondering if it was only her imagination or if someone was really in her room. Her bedside lamp was turned on though she was sure she switched it off when she went to bed, and moving her head slightly she found out whose hand it was.

"John?" she whispered, surprised by his presence.

"Yeah, it's me," he answered in the same tone, his hand stroking the side of her face.

"I'm dreaming, right?"

"No," he said, starting to kiss her softly.

"But…, how?" she asked between two kisses.

"I was putting Abby to bed when General O'Neill called me…"

 _Flashback:_

Taking the phone from Dinah's hand, John was still wondering who could possibly be calling him at this hour.

"Hello?"

"Sheppard, this is O'Neill."

"Sir? What can I do for you, sir? Oh my god, is Elizabeth alright?" he asked realizing that he might call because of that.

"She's fine, don't worry," he answered and he heard a sigh from relief coming from the other side. "I'm calling you about your resignation."

"I take it Elizabeth told you everything."

"Yes, but we still can't accept it."

"Sir…"

"Let me talk, Sheppard. I just came out from a meeting with the President himself, calling him on one of the favours I estimated he owed me. It wasn't that easy but I managed to convince him that Atlantis needed you. Don't worry, we're on a secure line," he said after hearing a sharp intake of breath. "Anyway, I said that I convinced him but that wasn't the harder part. No, the harder one was to convince the IOA to let you take your daughter with you. Thankfully, I used your reports about those Athosians who live on the mainland and for a time in the city."

"Sir…?" John said, not quite sure about what was decided.

"You can have your daughter with you on Atlantis. Sheppard, if you weren't an irreplaceable member of this expedition and that mainly due to your gene, I wouldn't have done that."

"I'm not irreplaceable, sir."

"Maybe not in everyone's eyes but for some you are. I know I didn't have this opinion when we first met but the situation is different now. What you live back there, it's even more impressive than what we know here. There's also the fact that your gene is really strong, and for the moment we have no one like you, even though Major Lorne's is pretty strong too. And you have a motto I believe in too, we never leave anyone behind. But more than what I already said, you're irreplaceable for your friends and Elizabeth, never doubt that."

"Thank you, sir."

"Bah, it's nothing. But don't tell anyone I said that, I'll deny everything, I have a reputation after all."

"I promise, sir," John said, chuckling.

"And quit the sir, please. I'm not your superior, well not really, so it's Jack. By the way, you're in Atlanta, right?"

"Yes, s… Jack."

"Okay, I have a friend there who owns a jet and I think he could give you a lift to Colorado tonight, if you want."

"Tonight, sir? I'm not…"

"Go, John," Dinah interrupted him, putting a hand on his arm. She might have only heard all of the conversation, but she knew what it was about.

"Abby's sleeping! And I thought you'd want some time with her before…"

"You can wake her up and if you let me drive you to the airport, I'll have some time with her. After all, it's not as if I won't see you anymore."

"Ok, then. Jack, you can tell your friend that we'll leave tonight."

"Great. How much time do you need?"

"Two hours. I need to pack our things and we'll go to the airport."

"Ok, I'll tell him. Oh and Elizabeth doesn't know about this, I'm sure you'll want to surprise her. I'm going to call the SGC and tell the airman on duty to give you a key to her room. Have a good trip, John."

"Thank you, Jack, thank you for everything."

Both men hung up and John turned back towards Dinah.

"Don't worry, John. I'll be fine. Since Clare's death, I was prepared for the idea that one day, you were going to come and take her away. And like I said, you'll come back from time to time."

"Yeah. But not as much as you'd like us too."

"I know. Now, go pack your things, I'm going to wake her up and pack most of hers."

"Thanks, Dinah."

John hugged her before climbing the stairs and going into his room. Packing up his belongings took only ten minutes and once it was done, he just sat on the bed, thinking about what was going to happen. He was going back to Atlantis and Abby was coming with him. He knew it could be dangerous for her, he had told Dinah that earlier, but still he was happy; she's going to find out about the great mysteries of the city he cherished so much.  
Coming in her bedroom, he saw Abby sitting on the bed, half-awake and still in her pyjamas and Dinah packing her clothes.

"Already done?"

"Yeah. Don't pack everything. We'll go shopping before leaving anyway, and I'm sure she won't be against new toys and clothes."

"You're probably right. Could you dress her?"

"Nah, she's going to fall asleep in the plane and I don't want to wake her up to put her in her pyjamas again later. She just needs to put on her robe, it'll be ok."

"Then, I think we're done. I also put her favourite toys and books in the bags."

"Ok. Take Abby, I'll take the bags."

"Come on missy, we're leaving," Dinah said, taking Abby in her arms.

In the car, John explained everything to his now fully awake daughter and she seemed to accept it pretty well. But, once on the tarmac, she didn't want to leave Dinah behind.

"It's ok, Abby. We're going to see each other again. It won't be forever, I promise. And you're going to be with Daddy and Elizabeth. Everything's going to be ok."

"Why don't you come with us?" she asked in between sobs.

"I can't. But I'm going to write you letters and you'll ask Daddy or Elizabeth to help you write one for me, ok?"

"Ok…"

"It's time, the plane's waiting for you. I love you, Abby," she said, hugging her tightly.

"I love you too."

"Take care you two," Dinah then said to John, hugging him too.

"I promise."

With a final goodbye, John and Abby got on the plane which would bring them to Colorado Springs Airport.

End of Flashback

"And here we are. I'm sorry for having woken you up," he said before kissing her.

"It's okay. I would have been angry at you if you waited to see me in the morning," she replied still kissing him. "By the way, where's Abby?"

"Here, on the chair."

"What?" she nearly cried out, but kept her voice low when she saw the little girl sleeping, curled up on the chair. "John, stop," she hissed as he was trailing kisses along her jaw before sucking at her pulse point. "John!"

"It's okay, I know that we can't take it too far. I saw you had the authorization to bring Sedge," he said to change the subject.

"Yeah. And how come she didn't react when you entered?"

"She knows me and my smell. And I might have bribed her…"

"She would have been a great guard dog, huh?" she said, rising slightly to see her dog who even lying down seemed to keep her head low.

"Leave her alone," he whispered, kissing his way down her throat, making her moan.

"Daddy?" a sleepy voice raised and Elizabeth pushed John off of her.

"I'm here sweetie. Come here, Elizabeth's here too."

Abby stood up from the chair and climbed on the bed, crawling towards the head, her eyes still half-closed. She sat between the two adults, snuggling closer to her father.

"Do you remember what I told you on our way to the airport?"

"That we're going to a new place? It's here?"

"No. We'll be leaving in a few days. I'm sure you're going to love it there."

"Why Dinah couldn't come with us?"

"Because she's not allowed to. You weren't too but one of our friends was very generous and offered to let me take you with me."

"And there won't be only the three of us," Elizabeth said, drawing Abby's attention towards her. "Sedge, come here."

Seeing the dog climb on the bed, Abby's eyes lit up.

"Her name's Sedge. She's my dog; well I guess she's our dog now. She seems to like you," she added when Abby started to stroke her.

"Mommy and Dinah didn't want a dog," she said in a sad voice.

"You have one, now," replied John kissing her head while she yawned. "We'd better sleep. It's still too early to get up."

At her owner's order, Sedge took back her place on the floor. John stripped down to his undershirt and boxers while Elizabeth helped Abby out of her robe. They lay down in the bed, Abby between them.  
The next morning, Elizabeth woke up with a body curled up against her back and an arm around her stomach. Her eyes still closed, she smiled, remembering what happened sometime during the night but suddenly frowned, knowing something, or rather someone, was missing. Opening her eyes and raising her head slightly, she saw Abby sitting next to Sedge, stroking her. Careful of not waking John up, she slid out of his embrace and got up, joining her on the floor.

"How long have you been up?" she asked quietly, putting a hand in Abby's hair.

"I don't know," she answered, shrugging.

"I have to take Sedge to the surface for a walk. Do you want to come with me?"

"And daddy?"

"Let him sleep for a while more. So what do you want to wear, today?"

Twenty minutes later, the three of them where in the forest on the surface of the base, Abby holding Elizabeth's hand and Sedge trailing ahead of them. Suddenly, the little girl stopped, making Elizabeth call back her dog and kneel in front of her.

"What is it, Abby?"

"Do you love Daddy?" she asked, surprising the older woman.

"Yes, I love him. And I already love you too Abby, even though I've only known you for a few days. And even if your father loves me, he doesn't love you any less" she added, knowing what she was thinking. "You're his daughter. You're afraid he doesn't love you anymore even though he tells you the contrary?"

"Yeah…," she answered so quietly that Elizabeth had to strain her ears to hear her. "You and Daddy are going to have a baby?"

"What makes you think that?" Elizabeth asked, surprised since she hadn't even talked about it with John yet.

"Mommy told me that when two people love each other, they make babies."

"Yeah, it's true but Daddy and I aren't going to have a baby, not yet."

"Ok…"

Elizabeth could tell that she wasn't convinced by what she told her and kept in mind to ask John to talk to Abby about that. In her opinion, Abby asking questions about herself and her father was normal; she would have been worried if she just accepted the new presence in her life. Wanting to cheer the little girl up, she started to think about how she could do it. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

"Hey, Abby do you like fairs?"

"Yeah," she answered, lifting her head up to look at Elizabeth.

"I heard there's one in town. Why don't we go wake your dad up so we can go there?"

Abby nodded in excitement, clearly enjoying the ideas.

"Ok then! Sedge, I hope you're done," she called, standing up.

They started walking back towards the entrance of the base, Abby now sporting a bright smile and nearly bouncing, which made the airmen at the gate smile. Back in their quarters, as soon as Elizabeth opened the door, Abby entered and jumped on the bed, thus awaking her father who was still sleeping mere seconds before.

"Hey, sweetie, calm down," he said his voice still rough from the sleep. "What's up?" he asked as Elizabeth sat on the bed and leaned to kiss him.

"We're going to the fair!!" Abby said ecstatic.

"Really?" he said and Elizabeth could see that his eyes had lit up just from hearing the word; her boyfriend was a real child when it came to that.

"Yeah," she answered. "I heard that there's one just outside Colorado Springs so, I thought we could go there today. Unless you had something already planned…?"

"Not really. I thought we could go shopping but I guess we could do that tomorrow. What time is it?"

"A little after 9am."

"Have you two already had breakfast?"

"No. We just went to the surface to take Sedge for a walk."

"Great. We'll eat something there, then. Give me ten minutes to get ready and I'm all yours," he said, finally getting up.

"Ok. Abby and I are going to ask Rodney if he could take Sedge for the day and this way, she's going to meet him too. Join us at the labs?"

"I will. But do you think labs, and especially Rodney's, are safe for Abby?"

"We're just going to be there for a few minutes. What could happen in such a short time?"

"A lot of things and you know it."

"Go get ready, John or else it will be already too crowded when we get there."

"Yes Ma'am!"

Elizabeth chuckled at him standing to attention in only his undershirt and boxers. He kissed them both, Elizabeth on the lips and Abby on the nose, and disappeared into the little en-suite bathroom.

"Come on, Abby, let's go see Rodney. Sedge," she called the dog as she opened the door and the three of them left for the labs.

Walking down the corridors towards the scientist's den, Elizabeth was glad to see that Abby's attitude towards her seemed to change, even though she knew it was only the beginning of a long road.

"Rodney," she said, coming into the lab followed by the little girl and Sedge.

"Hey, Elizabeth. What do you want? And who's this?" he asked, noticing Abby.

"Could you keep Sedge for the day?" she replied, ignoring his second question for the moment.

"Why me?" he whined.

"Rodney…"

"You know I'm a cat-person, not a dog one. Why don't you ask Doctor Jackson or Colonel Carter?"

"Because they have to work."

"Oh, and me? What? You think I'm just playing around?"

"No, but you have no schedule which means it would be easier for you to take her to the surface whenever she needs it."

"Because I also have to take her to relieve herself?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, unless you want her to soil the labs?"

"Ok, ok, I'll keep her. By the way, you haven't answered me; who is this little girl? Does she even have the permission to be here?"

"Yes she does, and she's my daughter," John said from the doorway.

"Sheppard? But… but… I thought you weren't coming back with us."

"I thought so too, but President Hayes and General O'Neill gave me permission to take her with me. Well, to be more precise, they convinced the IOA to give me that permission."

"Wow, that's cool, I guess."

"Yes it is," Elizabeth replied. "Rodney, this is Abby, Abby this is Rodney, a very good friend of ours."

"Hi, Abby. It's nice to meet you. So, you're going back with…," he stopped when she hid behind her father. "Why does she do that?" he asked, kind of surprised. "Is she afraid?"

"No, she's not afraid of you, she's just terribly shy. It's going to be better in a few days. So, is he going to keep Sedge?"

"Yeah. If you're ready, we can go."

"Ok then, come on girls. See you later, Rodney. And don't destroy the mountain."

"Very funny, Sheppard," the scientist said, clearly not amused. "Where are you going?"

"The fair just outside the Springs."

"Have fun, then, while I will be working."

Elizabeth and John said their goodbye and the three left Rodney alone to work. On the surface, they borrowed a car from the base and set off towards the fair, an excited Abby on the backseat.  
Once there, despite John's puppy dog eyes, they bought something healthy to eat for breakfast, Elizabeth promising they could have some sweets later. They began their day at the park by some quiet amusements. John won a teddy bear for Abby and a stuffed dog, strangely looking like Sedge, for Elizabeth. Sometime later, they went on a merry-go-round, John and Abby on the same wooden horse and Elizabeth on another just beside them. After lunch, as promised, Elizabeth bought some cotton candy and they sat on a bench, both watching Abby stuffing as much as she could in her mouth.  
Walking towards another attraction, Elizabeth stopped, making her companion turn around.

"Liz?"

"Maybe you should have some time together. I'm sure Abby would love to do some of the attractions with her father alone."

"Nope, we came here together, so we'll stay together, all the time. Come on, I saw a photographer this way earlier."

Intertwining their fingers, he dragged them towards the direction he pointed out. Abby was a little disappointed by her father's words; when she heard Elizabeth talking about leaving the two of them alone for a moment, she was really excited, but then he said that they'd stay together.

"Okay, I'm going to see when he could take us, stay here you two," John said and Elizabeth nodded, grabbing Abby's hand.

"Are you having fun, Abby?" she asked but the little girl stayed silent. "Abby… look at me please," she said, crouching before her. "I know you really wanted to spend sometime alone with your dad. I'm going to ask him again, ok?"

"Ok," she replied in a little voice.

"He's waiting for us… Everything okay?" John asked as he came back and Elizabeth stood up before replying to him.

"Yeah, no problem. We were just talking."

"Then, let's go," he concluded, leading them towards the photographer's stall.

After getting them settled, the three of them sitting on a bench with Abby between them, he took the photo and asked them to come in an hour to pick it up. While Abby was on a carousel by herself, Elizabeth decided to talk with John.

"I was serious earlier, when I said you and Abby should spend some time alone."

"Elizabeth…"

"No, listen to me. I'm sure she's thinking that I'm trying to keep you away from her."

"Why would she think that? There was never a problem with Clare or Dinah."

"Because Clare was her mom, and you weren't sharing the same type of relationship with them that you are with me. She's afraid that things would be different with me in your lives."

"Well, she did ask me yesterday when I put her to bed why I was never with her mom like I am with you. She was confused but I didn't think it could be a real problem."

"Believe me, John it is. You know what, as soon as she gets off the carousel, I'm going to give you two an hour alone."

"And what will you do during this time?"

"Don't worry, I'll find something to entertain myself. Here's Abby," she said, spotting the girl running towards them. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah!"

"Great. I'm going to leave you two for a moment. Keep an eye on your father, will you?"

"Ok," she answered, giggling.

"I see you trust me…"

"John…," she sighed, rolling her eyes at him. "Ok, let's say we meet up here in an hour."

"Perfect," he said, kissing her on the lips.

Elizabeth winked at Abby before the two of them turned around, and left her alone. She didn't really know what she could do for a whole hour, but guessed that she could always do some attractions by herself, especially the scarier ones that they wouldn't do with Abby. She hoped that spending some time together would help Abby to feel that her father's feelings towards her hadn't changed.  
Despite what she thought, she spent the hour walking throughout the fair, not once stopping. She had mentally noted which attractions the three of them could do before they had to leave. She soon found herself back at the meeting point, a good ten minutes before the hour was up. Lost in her thoughts, she turned around to see if she could catch sight of them, and bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I…," she stopped, realizing who it was.

"Elizabeth…"

"Simon," she replied, regaining her composure.

"I thought you'd already left."

"No, I still have a few days. You're here by yourself?"

"Yeah… You?"

"No. Actually, I'm with John, my…," she hesitated, not knowing how to put it.

"Boyfriend," he finished for her.

"Yeah… Why is it so awkward?" she asked, voicing both of their thoughts. "I mean… We were together for a few years, we even lived together, so why are we acting like this?"

"I don't know. Maybe, it's because our separation didn't go exactly well."

"That you can say," Elizabeth let out in a breath.

"Look, I know I've hurt you, Elizabeth, and I'm sorry, really sorry. I've never ever wanted to hurt you."

"Maybe you should have told me the truth when I first came back, then," she said, harshly, her eyes burning with fire. "I've never asked you this, but why did you wait until the last minute to tell me that not only you wouldn't come with me, but that you had met someone else too? Why, Simon?" she asked again when he didn't answer immediately, though keeping her voice as low as possible to not attract unwanted attention.

"I don't know. First, I received that video, where you told me to move on. Then, you came back into my life when I least expected you. I was lost, I think."

"It's my fault then."

"No, I haven't meant it like that. I…"

"Elizabeth," a male voice coming interrupted him.

A man holding a child's hand came beside her, and put his free arm around her waist. She turned slightly towards him and kissed his cheek before smiling at the little girl. Simon observed them; it was as if they were the perfect little family. He couldn't remember having seen Elizabeth this happy in years.

"John, Abby, this is Simon Wallace," she said and he saw in John's eyes that he knew about him already. "Simon, this is John Sheppard and his daughter, Abby."

"Pleased to meet you," Simon said shaking the other man's hand who in answer just nodded.

"I've literally bumped into him a few minutes ago. Did you have fun you two?"

"Yeah!" Abby exclaimed. "We went to the horror train, it was funny!"

"Really?" she said surprised, looking towards John and crossing her arms.

"What can I say? She's my daughter!"

"That she is, without a doubt."

Watching them, smiling and laughing, Simon felt like an intruder; he didn't have a place in Elizabeth's life anymore.

"Well, I gotta go."

"It was nice to see you, Simon."

"Likewise," he replied, nodding towards John. "Oh, while I think about it, your mom called yesterday; she wanted to know if I had heard from you."

"Yeah, I promised her I'd phone her next time I was back, and I completely forgot. What did you say?"

"That you came to take Sedge, and that I thought you were already gone."

"I'd better call her or she'll give me an earful next time," she said, cringing at this thought.

"Yeah… Well, goodbye."

"Bye, Simon."

With one last smile towards Elizabeth, he turned around and walked away from them. Leaning slightly against John, she watched him go.

"He still loves you."

"What makes you think that?"

"The way he looked at you."

"Well, maybe he still loves me, but I don't anymore," she said, smiling at him and kissing him lightly on the lips. "I don't want to call my mother," she then groaned, hiding her head in John's neck.

"Why?"

"Let's see, first, she'll yell at me because I didn't call her sooner, well maybe not yell but it won't be too far from that, then, she'll ask me once more why Simon and I broke up, she really likes him," she added at John's raised eyebrow, "and I'll end up telling her about you and Abby."

"And you don't want to talk about us?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that she'll want me to explain everything and…," she stopped not knowing how to say the next part.

"And?" he urged her.

"You're Air Force and well, my parents are anti-military. They already don't understand why I'm working with them so…"

"That might be a problem. But let's not think about that for the moment. We still have some time left before going back to the SGC."

"Ok, Abby, what do you want to do, then?" she asked the child, who gave her a shrug in response. "John?"

"Ferris Wheel!"

"I should have guessed. Abby's not afraid of heights?"

"Oh come on, Liz, she's my daughter, you should know better than this!"

"Right… Lead the way then. But I think they have a height restriction."

"She'll pass."

Still holding Abby's hand with his other arm draped around Elizabeth's waist, John dragged them towards the Ferris Wheel. They could see it dominate the rest of the attractions. There wasn't a lot of people before them in the queue and to John's delight, Abby was just a few inches taller that the minimum height. The three took place, with Abby between the two adults and they began their slow ascension. Abby watched with big eyes as they were nearing the top. The sight was awesome; they were above everything and they could see the whole park below them.  
It was over way too soon for Abby's liking, and despite the puppy-dog eyes she'd inherited from her father, they decided it was time to go back to the SGC. Before leaving the park, they made a last stop at the photographer's to grab their photo.  
Once in the car, John put the key in the ignition but instead of turning on the engine, he turned towards Elizabeth.

"Ok, what do you think we grab a bite to eat in town instead of eating at the mess?"

"Well, under other circumstances I'd have said yes but look at Abby," she said pointing to the little girl whose eyes were half-closed. "She's exhausted so why don't we postpone this idea till tomorrow night? Plus, we need to relieve Rodney of Sedge."

"It could be the other way around, actually. Then, tomorrow night, it's settled. Let's go back to the SGC."

John started the car and drove them back to Cheyenne Mountain. Once there, John had to carry Abby in his arms since she fell asleep in the car.

"She's exhausted," Elizabeth whispered when they were in the elevator.

"Yeah, but we have to wake her up; she needs to eat something," he whispered back as Abby stirred in his arms and opened her eyes slightly. "Hey, baby."

"I'm hungry, daddy," she said, snuggling closer in his arms.

"I know. We're just going to Rodney's lab for Sedge and then we're going to eat something, okay?" he said, and Abby just mumbled in response.

When they arrived in front of the lab, they saw Rodney with his back to them, and he seemed to be concentrating really hard on his work. Sedge's head shot up the moment she sensed them and she trotted towards them. The scientist still hadn't noticed them, probably too engrossed into his work, and Elizabeth saw an evil smile make its way onto John's lips; he was obviously up to something. Leaving Abby in Elizabeth's arms, he walked towards their friend and looked over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he asked and smiled broadly when Rodney jumped out of his chair.

"Sheppard! Oh god, I think I'm having a heart attack! Where's Carson? Don't ever do that again, Colonel!"

"You're rambling, McKay…"

"Calm down, Rodney," Elizabeth said with her quiet voice, while John was still sporting a smug smile.

"Ok, but I still need to see Carson. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a second."

"And I'm sure you're fine. And I'll remind you that Carson is still in Scotland with Laura. They'll be back tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh, right, I forgot. Why did they have to go there in the first place?" he mumbled, but the couple could still hear it. "So, how was your day? Mine was pretty interesting actually," he continued without letting them answer his question. "You see, I've discovered that…"

"Can we talk about it later, Rodney?" Elizabeth asked, putting Abby down.

"Yeah, sure," he said turning back towards the bench in time to see Abby perched on the chair, picking up something. "No, don't touch that, it's…," he stopped as he heard a faint beep. "She has the gene…"

"That's my girl," John said, taking her into his arms before removing the life sign detector from her hands. "How come you have that here?"

"Well, I wanted to show it to Colonel Carter when she came this afternoon. And when she took it in her hands, it worked!"

"But, she doesn't have the gene…" Elizabeth remembered.

"No, but the baby she's carrying has it."

"You mean that during a pregnancy, if the baby has the gene, it can be transmitted to the mother," John understood.

"Not really. The baby has the gene, not the mother, but during the pregnancy, she has this ability to control Ancient technology. Now, about Abby, when we're back on Atlantis, I'd want to run some tests to know if her gene is as strong as yours..."

"No way," John interrupted him. "She's too young for that; she won't become your guinea pig."

"Oh come on, I was just thinking of sitting her on the chair. Elizabeth, help me!"

"I have to side with John on this one. You won't test her. Maybe in a few years, she'll be happy to help you, but definitely not now."

Rodney started muttering something under his breath, but neither Elizabeth nor John wanted to know what it was, if only for his own sake. Saying their goodbyes to him, they left the lab with Sedge and headed towards the mess.

"I did something wrong?" Abby asked, still in her father's arms, wondering why they made so much fuss when she picked up the strange object.

"No, sweetie. Rodney just doesn't understand that you're too young to help him." Just as he stopped speaking, a stomach grunted, making him turn towards the sound. "You hungry?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth admitted, narrowing her eyes at John and Abby when they started giggling. "Hey, that's not fair, you two!"

They were still laughing over Elizabeth's stomach when they entered the mess. John put Abby down and told her to sit at a table under Sedge's surveillance, while he and Elizabeth took care of the food. When they arrived at the table, they saw Daniel, with his own tray in front of him, trying to talk to Abby. So far, she hadn't answered him, barely acknowledging him by looking at him.

"She's not very talkative," he said to the couple when they joined them.

"She doesn't know you, Daniel," Elizabeth just stated, placing a plate of food in front of the young girl. "So will you come back with us this time?"

"You're kidding, right? I'd love to, but you know Jack..."

"He still doesn't want you to come? Even with the ZPMs?" she asked surprised.

"No. But one day, I'll find a way. I may have to wait till he finally retires, but I'll go to Atlantis indefinitely. Wait… Even if he retired, he'd try to prevent me from going there."

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

"I don't think you'd convince him."

"Hey, she's a diplomat, she can convince a monkey to give up bananas!"

"It's Jack we're talking about…"

"Yeah… Maybe you're right then."

"I can't believe that your daughter who's only five will get to live in the City while I'm stuck here."

John looked sideways at Elizabeth with a smile on his lips; she just shrugged at him, probably more used to the other man's reaction than he was. The rest of the dinner was spent between Daniel's questions about Atlantis and John and Elizabeth's answers. Abby just sat there, looking at the adults while chewing on her food; she knew that if she didn't finish her plate, she wouldn't have any dessert, and since she spotted chocolate cake earlier, she certainly wouldn't let it pass.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Daniel suddenly remembered as he was leaving them. "General Landry said that the room next to yours is free at the moment, Abby could sleep there if you want."

"Thank you," John answered.

They were bidding their goodnight when a woman entered the mess.

"Oh no…," Daniel sighed and he quickly left, the mysterious woman following him.

"Daniel, wait!"

"Who is she?"

"Vala Mal Doran. You've probably heard about her."

"Yeah I remember now," John said just as Elizabeth noticed Abby trying to stifle a yawn.

"I think it's time to go to bed, young lady," she said, standing up and taking her in her arms.

"I'll carry her," John offered.

Instead of replying to him, she gave him a pointed look. He knew that she wanted her to get used to her presence in her life, and that meant taking care of his daughter. Once they arrived in front of their quarters, John didn't open the door immediately. Instead, he just stood there, looking at them while Elizabeth was trying to figure out what was going on in his mind.

"Hey, Abby," he whispered at her, her head on Elizabeth's shoulder, "what do you think of having a big room and a bed all for yourself? It's just the door next to ours and the doors won't be locked. It'd be better than being all squeezed up in the same bed."

"You'll be there?" she asked.

"Elizabeth and I will be here," he said pointing to the door in front of them before pointing to the next one, "and you'll be there. Like I said, you could come anytime if there's a problem."

"Okay…," she agreed before closing her eyes.

"John, you sure…?" Elizabeth asked as they were making their way into the other room. "She doesn't know this place, she could be afraid."

"And she'll come to us if she is," he assured her as he was changing Abby into her pyjamas.

He tucked her in before kissing her forehead and her nose.

"Are you still awake, Abby?" Elizabeth whispered after having kissed her goodnight herself, and Abby just nodded and opened her eyes slightly in response. "You know what? Sedge is going to stay with you tonight, ok?"

"Yeah…" the little girl replied before closing her eyes for the night.

Elizabeth and John left the room, closing the door quietly behind them, before entering their quarters. Once there, they changed into their nightclothes, both a little tired from the day.

"We'll have to move into family quarters once back home," Elizabeth said, climbing into bed. "Your quarters are big enough for both of us, but not for the three of us."

"I'm glad we've found them, you know. I'm thinking of one on the South Pier, not too far away from the rest of the living area though."

"That's a good idea."

"I always have good ideas. Now, I can picture them; a pretty big area for the living-room, a master bedroom for us, and two other smaller, but not too small, bedrooms."

"Two more bedrooms? I think Abby will just need one."

"I know. But we still can have another one…," he paused for a second, unsure of what would be her reaction, "if we decide to extend our family."

"You want us… to have a baby?" Elizabeth asked in a whisper, stunned by what he said.

"Yes. Maybe not right now, but I love you and I definitely want to have children with you. Do you?" he asked, licking his lips.

She knew that he always did that when he was nervous and, instead of answering him verbally, she gave him a chaste kiss.

"So… I take it that's a yes," John said, to which Elizabeth nodded in response. "Great."

"But like you said, we'll have to wait. We need to get settled first, especially Abby. She left the only home she knew and she's going to an entire different world. She'll need some time to adapt herself to the situation. You know what's strange?"

"No, but I think you're going to tell me," he answered with a smug smile.

"Smartass," she replied, giggling. "Well, this very morning, Abby asked me if we were going to have a baby."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I said no but when she asked, I didn't know how to answer her. I mean, we hadn't even discussed it yet, so it was… strange."

"Do you think she'll like to have a little brother or sister?"

"I don't know. She's your daughter, you tell me."

"We never talked about it since neither her mother nor I were in serious relationships before."

"Then, when we think it'll be the right moment, we'll talk to her."

"Ok."

"While I think about it, you said you wanted to go shopping?"

"Yeah. I've packed some of Abby's things but I've left most of them at Dinah's."

"Then we'll go shopping tomorrow afternoon. And we have one last briefing before going back to Atlantis, the day after tomorrow."

"You don't have to work?"

"No. I finished reviewing the new members' files yesterday, everything else's okay. I need to call my parents tomorrow," she sighed.

"It'll go well. Think about it, it's only a phone call, you're not going to see them."

"Yeah, but next time, we'll have to. They'll want to meet you and Abby."

"We'll think about it when the time will come, okay?"

John knew that he couldn't erase her doubts about the next day's phone call. Instead, he edged closer to her and started to kiss her temple, then her cheek and her jaw, before crushing his mouth to hers. Elizabeth complied when his tongue asked for entrance, and she opened her mouth. Still kissing her, John pushed her gently down on the bed, letting his hands roam over her body, while hers was in his hair, pulling him even closer. She spread her legs apart and he settled between them. Breaking the kiss, his lips trailed down her throat before moving up. He stopped to bite slightly at her pulse point and then took her earlobe between his teeth, tugging at it gently. Elizabeth was already breathing raggedly but she knew that it was only the beginning. One of his hands was now under her top, on her stomach, slowly moving towards her breasts, while the other started to slide it up. Just as his hands was stroking the underside of her breasts, a knock at the door made them jump apart. Elizabeth just had the time to pull her top back down before the door slid open, revealing Abby, Sedge in tow.

"Hey, sweetie," John said, a little out of breath, motioning for her to join them on the bed. "What happened?"

"I had a nightmare," she just said, snuggling into her father's embrace.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked and she shook her head vehemently. "Okay… Do you want to stay and sleep with us, then?"

Abby nodded and he laid her down between him and Elizabeth before doing the same. She fell asleep quickly, feeling safe with her father.

"I'm sorry," he said to a still slightly flushed Elizabeth, taking her left hand in his right.

"It's okay. I was pretty sure something like that would have happened. But I just hoped it would happen later."

"I'll make it up to you."

"You better! And we better sleep; we have a long day tomorrow too."

"Yeah. Goodnight."

"'Night."

John was fast asleep too and Elizabeth couldn't help but think: like father, like daughter. She knew he was exhausted from their day at the park, but also from his few hours of sleep the night before. Looking down at Abby, she sighed; now that she was in their lives, they could be interrupted more often than before. Though, looking at her sleeping face, she couldn't bring herself to blame her; they just needed to get used to each other. The first few weeks would be difficult, that was for sure, but they'd manage, Elizabeth was sure of that.

 

 _To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 

Three days later, the Atlantis team was gathered in the gateroom, waiting for the Stargate to open. The last two days were spent in a hurry, getting everything reading for today's departure. From the control room, Elizabeth was looking at the old and new members, wondering what the next few months would bring to them. Beside her were Abby and John, the latter trying to explain what was going on to his daughter; she couldn't help but smile at the father-daughter interaction.

Once again looking in the gateroom, her gaze found Rodney first, speaking with a new scientist, probably already wanting him to understand that he was way smarter than him. She then spotted Laura and Carson, both sporting a huge smile; during their stay on Earth, they had gone to Scotland, Carson wanting Laura to meet his mother, and from what she heard it went pretty well. One by one, her eyes fell on each member of the old team, each bringing out a memory from their time in the City. She didn't know why, but she was feeling a bit nostalgic, thinking back on the first time they were all in that same gateroom waiting to hear if they were leaving or not. But some weren't there; some were in Atlantis, keeping the city running during their absence, others died, like Sumner, Markham and Peter, and another one was still missing, Ford. But what she felt was different from that day: she was not leaving home, she was going home.

"Everything's ready, Ma'am," Walter said, startling her.

"Thank you."

"You ok?" John asked her, a concerned look on his face.

"Yes, I was just too deep in thought."

"So, you and your team are ready to go back to Atlantis, Dr Weir?" General Landry asked as he came down the stairs from the briefing room, followed by SG1.

"Yes, we are."

"Then, after you…"

"Walter, dial the Atlantis gate and then send the IDC."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Elizabeth and John bid their goodbyes to Landry and SG1 and went to the gateroom. They waited beside their friends as the inner circle of the gate span, chevrons encoding one by one.  
Abby was still in her father's arms and was a little confused by what was going on. She watched as the big donut-like thing span and some dots seemed to shine at some places. The last chevron locked and Abby, surprised by the gate opening, buried her head in John's neck.

"It's okay, sweetheart," he said, rubbing her back with one of this hands. "Look at this."

Confident in her father's words, she slowly turned her head towards the gate seeing a kind of water puddle in the middle of the ring. She watched in fascination as it illuminated the rest of the gateroom.

"We have to go through the gate and then we'll be in our new home, okay? I promise you it won't hurt. I have done it a lot of times and Elizabeth too."

He turned to look at Elizabeth who was tightening her grip on Sedge's leash; obviously the dog had been scared of the gate opening too. From the control room, Landry gave them the go and the couple, as the leaders of the City, were the first ones to walk towards the gate. Each turning one last time towards those who would stay on Earth, they entered the wormhole, John whispering comforting words to Abby and a mere second later, they were home.  
They climbed the stairs; Caldwell was there, waiting for them, quite surprised by John's presence and the two new additions. The new members stayed in the gateroom, waiting to know where to go, as the others left for their rooms, or in Rodney's case went to the control room to check if Zelenka hadn't done too much damage to the city in his absence.

"Welcome back, Doctor, Sheppard. I thought you were staying on Earth; at least it was what they told me when they asked me to replace you."

"I was. But General O'Neill found a solution. By the way, sir, let me introduce you to my daughter, Abby. Abby, this is Colonel Caldwell, he works here with us."

"Nice to meet you, Abby," he said with a smile on his face. "Going through the Stargate wasn't too scary?"

"It was fun!" she exclaimed. "Can we do it again, Daddy?"

The three adults were surprised by Abby's answer; they hadn't expected her to be so enthusiastic about the experience, quite the opposite actually. Elizabeth introduced Sedge to the colonel while John put Abby down, though still holding her hand.

"Well, the city is all yours again, doctor. I've summed up every report I've signed during your stay on Earth so you can see what had been going on in this galaxy. Things were pretty calm though: no new Wraith threat, although Major Lorne's team encountered some of them during a mission. If you have any questions, I'll be in my office."

"Thank you, Colonel, I'll be sure to come see you if I need to."

"I think it's time to address the new members," John said, as Caldwell left them while Rodney and Radek were still bickering in the background. "Those two are like an old married couple, I swear," he added referring to them which enticed giggles from Elizabeth before she contained herself.

"Alright, people," she said, raising her voice so that every single person in the gateroom could hear her. "You were all briefed before you came here so you know what to do. These airmen will guide you towards the residential area and then you'll all go to the infirmary for a brief check-up. You're off-duty till tomorrow morning, so I suggest you take that time to settle. That is all. Thank you and welcome to Atlantis."

"Well, I propose we go get settled too. And no 'I have reports to read', they can wait," he countered as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Fine. But let me take my radio just in case. I'll be in my quarters if you need to reach me," she told Chuck.

"Yes, Ma'am."

On their way to their quarters, they passed the gym and stopped, watching Teyla and Ronon sparring. The two Pegasus natives hadn't seemed to have noticed the two leaders' presence, enthralled in their fight. Teyla was blocking each of Ronon's attacks until he surprised her by a feint; she didn't have time to counter his next attack and the next thing she knew, she was pinned against the wall with Ronon's body close to hers. They were both breathing heavily, looking into the other's eyes, trying to determine whether or not their sparring match was over.  
Satisfied with what she saw in the Satedan's eyes, Teyla slightly bowed her head and smiled at him. Ronon finally let her go from where she was pinned against the wall and turned towards the door, not surprised at all to find John and Elizabeth there.

"Nice move, Ronon," John said walking in the room.

"I agree with Colonel Sheppard. I didn't see that one coming."

"You want to spar Sheppard?"

"Err… Thanks but we just came back, so it'll be for another time."

"I see you're not alone," Teyla decided to intervene, knowing that Ronon wouldn't stop there.

"No. This is Abby, my daughter and this is Sedge, Elizabeth's dog."

"I wasn't aware you had a daughter. I am Teyla and this is Ronon," she told Abby who was looking at them with a curious look on her face.

"She looks a lot like you, Sheppard. Does she cause as many problems as you?"

"Ronon!" Teyla exclaimed as Elizabeth was trying to suppress her laughter, which earned her a glare from John.

"Ok, I think we'll be going now. We have to settle in and then I want to take Abby to visit some parts of the City. So, see you later guys!"

"Teyla," Elizabeth said as John and Abby were already leaving the room, "we'll probably go to the mainland soon so Abby could meet the other kids and Sedge could run, so if you want to come with us…"

"I'll let you know, Doctor Weir. Thank you and have a good day."

Elizabeth just nodded before joining her little family who was waiting for her at the door. Her family…; Elizabeth was surprised when these words popped into her mind, only a week ago it was just John and her and now they were a family.  
Meanwhile, in the gym, Teyla and Ronon were sipping some water and resting before going back to their sparring.

"I'd never pictured Sheppard as a father."

"He's good with children. When my people were staying in Atlantis he would tell them a story every night."

"How do you think Weir is taking the news?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm pretty sure she didn't know about the girl before going back to their planet. I don't think Sheppard told anyone about her."

"But they've been involved with each other for a few months, he would have told her before."

"You don't always say everything to your loved one…"

Teyla noticed the longing look he had and wondered what he meant by his words. She didn't push the issue though; maybe one day she would, but she knew him well enough to know that it wasn't the right moment. Instead, she stood up and dropped her towel on the bench before picking up her sticks. A smile tugged at Ronon's lips before he joined her in the middle of the room; every friendly fight with her was like a real one, they didn't hold back.  
Once in their quarters, Elizabeth and John were unpacking while Abby sat on the floor, playing with Sedge.

"When do you want to move into the family quarters, John?"

"Pretty soon, I guess. Abby could sleep with us for a few nights, but she has to have her own room and bed. Why don't we go visit them after lunch?"

"I have to…"

"No! Don't say it!" he interrupted her. "Caldwell's here, they can do without you for one more day."

"John…," she sighed, wanting him to understand her but when she saw his puppy dog eyes she just gave up. "Alright, they can wait."

An hour later, they had finished their unpacking, knowing they'd have to re-pack everything soon. Since it was already lunch time and Abby was starving, they went to the commissary where they met with the rest of John's team and Lorne's. Like when they were at the SGC, John and Elizabeth sent Abby to sit at the table while they took care of the trays.

"Hi Abby," Teyla said while Ronon and Rodney just nodded, engulfing more than actually eating.

She then introduced her to Major Lorne and his team, who since hearing that their CO had a daughter were eager to meet her. Abby was shy in front of all these people she didn't know; out of all of them, the scientist was the only one she saw a few times before coming to Atlantis.  
Elizabeth and John joined them at the table, she sitting beside Teyla and him beside his daughter. Abby made a face when John put her plate in front of her but made up her mind to eat it seeing her father's look.

"So, how's Abby adapting to life here?" Rodney asked between two mouthfuls.

"We just came back, McKay. She'll need a few days."

"Are your quarters big enough for the three of you?"

"No, and this is why we're planning on moving," Elizabeth answered Teyla. "John wants us to visit some family quarters that were found a few weeks ago. Let's hope we'll find one that's suitable; Abby needs her own room."

"When will our next mission be?" Ronon asked once he finished everything that was on his tray.

"I don't want to leave Abby so soon, even with Elizabeth here with her. Maybe next week or the week after. Plus, I have to test the new recruits to see if they're fit to go off-world. But if you want, you can go off-world with another team."

"Since I have a lot of things to do, I'm not against staying on Atlantis for a few weeks. I haven't gone to my lab yet and I really hope Zelenka hasn't messed with my experiments."

"Rodney," Elizabeth sighed, "Radek is more than competent and you know that. You know, John was right earlier when he said you and him act like an old married couple," she added to tease him.

"What?" he squealed. "Are you crazy or what? Me and Zelenka? You know you have a dirty mind since you're with Sheppard."

"Oh, believe me Rodney, she already had one," John said with a sly grin.

"Oh you two are sick," the scientist said before leaving the table while the other people still around grinned.

"So Lorne," John started bringing the Major attention onto him, "Caldwell told us that your team met some Wraith."

"Yes. We were exploring M9J546. There was a village and we were asking them when the last culling had been when two darts came through the Gate. Most of the villagers followed us to the nearby forest but some were taken. I don't think they'd seen us otherwise they would have waited for us at the Gate. I think Colonel Caldwell gave you a summary of our reports but if you want the whole reports…"

"Put them on my desk as soon as you can," John nodded.

"What is a Vrath, Daddy?" Abby asked, making a slight mistake on the name.

"It's the bad guy my friends and I are fighting against, sweetheart. But don't worry, Elizabeth and I will never let them come near you."

"Neither will we," Lorne assured the girl. "How old are you?" he asked and she showed him her hand with all her fingers raised up. "That much, huh? You know I have a niece of your age and before I left she gave me one of her favourite books as a reminder of her. If you want you could borrow it from me."

"Thank you, Lorne."

"You're welcome, Colonel, but I didn't know you read stories for children too," he teased and the rest of his team started to laugh, while Teyla, Ronon and Elizabeth just smiled.

"Be careful, Major, you don't want to spend a whole week playing guinea pig for Rodney and his team…?"

"Err… guys? I think we gotta go," he said to his team before turning towards the rest of the table. "Miss Sheppard, it was a pleasure, Sir, Doctor, Teyla, Ronon, see you later."

"Coward…," John said once they left the table and Elizabeth shook her head, sighing at his attitude.

"Well, John if you want us to visit some family quarters, though I'm pretty sure they all look the same, we should go know. I really need to read some reports tonight in order to catch up with what went on."

"I thought we said no work today?"

"John…"

"I know, I know. Well then, we'll go too," he told Ronon and Teyla, standing up.

Saying their goodbyes to the two other members of AR-1, they left the commissary walking towards the living area where they'd found the family quarters. Left alone, Ronon and Teyla decided to leave the room too, both wanting to spar some more before others claimed the gym.  
In the residential area, after having left Sedge in their quarters, the couple and Abby went in search of a new place to live. John steered them to the South pier, having his mind set to quarters in this particular area.

"You do realize that Rodney's quarters are not so far from there?" Elizabeth asked, wondering if that thought crossed her lover's mind.

"Well, then he could baby-sit Abby from time to time."

"If you say so…," she said, not convinced at all because of Rodney's notorious reputation of not liking children.

"Ok, what do you think of this one?" he asked, opening the door to yet other quarters.

"They're exactly like the other three we visited, John."

"Except this one has a bigger master bedroom than the others. But if you want, I think the next one has four bedrooms"

"John Sheppard," she lowered her voice so Abby couldn't here them, "I will not give birth to half a dozen children."

"And I won't ask you that. But I still want children with you," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I have an idea. For the moment, we could use the third bedroom as a playroom for Abby. And if we need more space we could still move again."

"And how much more space do you hope we'll need?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"We'll discuss that later. So, what do you think of these quarters?"

"Like I already said, they're not that much different from the others. But you know what all these family quarters miss? Kitchens. We'll still depend on the commissary for meals."

"I guess the Ancients loved to have meals together. So, yes or no?"

"Impatient are we?" she teased him. "Well, why don't you ask your other girl?"

"Right. Hey, honey, come here," he said, both of them crouching to Abby's level. "Do you like it here?"

The young girl just shrugged, not knowing what to say. To her, the rooms they visited in the last two hours were all the same, and nothing like her home back on Earth.

"Ok, so what do we do?" John asked Elizabeth when Abby failed to answer.

"If you really like them, then I guess we could take them."

"You sure?"

"Yes. But my warning still stands."

"Understood, Ma'am."

"So Abby, why don't you choose your room? Daddy and I will be in this room," she said, pointing to the door of the biggest bedroom of the three. "You can choose one of the other two."

"I think this one is slightly bigger than the other one," John said, taking his daughter to the threshold of one of the rooms. "Do you like it? I know it's nothing like your bedroom, but with the furniture we bought before leaving, it should be fine."

"Ok," she said quietly.

"Hey, Abby, you ok?" he asked crouching before her.

"I miss Dinah," she said, sniffing.

"I know sweetheart, and I promise you we'll go to see her as soon as we can. Hey, you know what? Why don't we write her a letter tonight?"

Abby nodded, snuggling into her father's arms. He stood up with her in his arms and turned to face Elizabeth. Putting an arm around her waist, he brought her closer to them; she obliged, wrapping one of her arms around his waist and stroking Abby's back with the other, kissing her head in the process.

"It'll take time, but she's gonna be fine," he told her.

"I know. We should go back to our quarters. She's probably tired since it's past the time of her nap."

"Yeah. But I'm afraid that if she sleeps now, she won't be tired enough at her bedtime tonight."

"Well, she'll go to sleep a little later tonight," Elizabeth said and John could only agree with her.

They left the quarters, walking towards the nearest transporter, Abby nearly asleep in John's arms.  
Once in their quarters, John put Abby on the bed and then joined Elizabeth who retreated to the balcony. She seemed deep in thought but didn't jump when he puts his arms around her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder, her own hands coming to rest on his.

"A penny for your thoughts."

"It's not important."

"For me, every thought that crosses your mind is important, so…?"

"Ok, I was just thinking about something I read when I was at the SGC and you were still in Atlanta."

"And? What was it?"

"I spent some time with Sam and she had this book of names with her… I don't know why but I just looked at my name, yours and Abby to know what they meant."

"So, what do they mean?"

"Well, mine means consecrated to God, yours God is merciful and I have to say that Abby's name really fits her."

"How so?"

"It means Joy of the father."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She paused and then added after a few minutes, "I probably should go to my office to read some of the reports."

"Why don't you stay?" John asked, and even though she couldn't see him, she could here the pout in his voice.

"We already discussed that."

"Ok, ok," he said, releasing her so she could face him. "When will we move in?"

"I guess it'll depend on when we'll have time to. We have to work too, John, should I remind you?"

"I know. We could still start with Abby's room and then we'll bring in the rest of our stuff. What do you think?"

"My, John Sheppard, you're full of good ideas today!"

"I know," he simply replied, leaving butterfly kisses on her lips. "And I have one more of them. The sooner we move in our new quarters, the sooner Abby gets her own room and the sooner I'll make it up to you for that night at the SGC."

"I love that one," she said, waggling her eyebrows before leaning in to kiss him passionately. "Ok, now I should really go. See you later."

She left the balcony and he followed her inside just in time to see the door closing behind her and Sedge. Turning towards the bed, he saw that Abby was sleeping, curled up in a foetal position, traces of her recent tears on her cheeks. Definitely not wanting to wake her up, he picked up his War and Peace copy and sat on a chair.  
Meanwhile, Elizabeth entered her office, Caldwell following a few seconds later.

"Colonel. may I help you?" she asked, taking her seat, Sedge laying on the floor right beside her.

"Actually, I was surprised you turned up so late."

"Yeah, sorry about that, but family matters," she replied, loving the sound of those words in her mouth. "You needed anything else?"

"Just to tell you that Hermiod wanted to take out the Daedalus for a few hyperdrive controls tomorrow. If that's okay with you, of course. It'll probably take a few days"

"There's no problem with that, Colonel, as long as you're reachable, just in case."

"We will be. I don't think he's planning to go too far away, anyway."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."

"Of course."

He left her office and she opened her laptop, immediately noticing some new files which were sent by Colonel Caldwell during her absence. Deciding that the sooner she began, the sooner she'd be done, she opened the first one, shutting every other sound around her down.  
An hour or so later, a knock at her door prevented her from beginning on a new report. Raising her head, she saw Lieutenant Cadman and motioned for her to enter her office.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Ma'am."

"It's okay, Lieutenant. Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all. Actually, I was just wondering if you would join us for the Girls Poker Night tomorrow night?"

Elizabeth considered her answer for a moment. She was touched by Laura's offer, but there was Abby. She knew she should spend some time with her; after all they needed to know each other better. She was ready to refuse when John appeared at the doorway, holding Abby's hand and Sedge in tow.

"What's happening?" he asked, wondering why the young lieutenant was there.

"Nothing, sir. I just came to ask Doctor Weir if she would join tomorrow's poker night."

"Why didn't I know there was going to be a poker night?"

"'Cos it's girls only, sir, sorry," Laura replied, a big grin on her face, which earned her a mild glare from her CO.

"I'm sorry Laura but there's Abby and I should…"

"Go," John interrupted her.

"You sure?"

"There'll be plenty of other nights for us to spend together."

"In that case… Thank you, Lieutenant, I'd love too."

"Then, you know where, Ma'am. Have a good day, bye Abby," she added winking at the girl before leaving the room.

"John…"

"You would have gone if Abby wasn't here right?"

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts. Yes, we have to make some changes in our lives with Abby here, but that doesn't mean we have to stop living completely. I know you enjoy those nights when you don't have to be the boss."

Elizabeth had to smile at that; he knew her so well that sometimes, she wondered if he read her mind. She watched as he sat on the couch, while Abby came towards her. She immediately understood what the girl wanted and lifted her to let her sit on her lap.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked, kissing her temple and Abby just nodded in response, looking at everything on her desk.

"Sedge!" she said, pointing at the photo Elizabeth kept on her desk.

"Yeah, that's her."

"What's that?"

"Oh, that… is a present from your Daddy. He offered me that jar for my first birthday here on Atlantis. It means a lot to me."

From his seat on the couch, John looked at them. He loved to see them like that, having this kind of mother/daughter interaction. He knew she wanted to work but Abby came first, just like for him. Elizabeth raised her eyes for a moment and smiled at him before taking her attention back to his daughter, answering her questions. He knew they were still at the beginning of a long road; Abby still needed time to really accept Elizabeth in her life.

"Well, we should probably let you work, now. We'll come get you by dinner time, ok?"

"I should be finished by then, otherwise, the rest will wait until tomorrow."

"Good answer," John said leaning in to kiss her before helping Abby down.

"Bye-bye, Abby."

"Bye, Lizzie," she replied leaving the office after her father

Elizabeth smiled at the nickname the little girl gave her; nobody had called her that since she was only a bit older than Abby, switching to 'Liz' or Elizabeth. Shaking her head, she concentrated once more on her work, hoping there would be no more interruptions.  
Meanwhile, John took Abby to the Jumper to show her his other pride and joy. Opening the rear hatch, they stepped inside, going for the controls.

"Here, sit there," he said, putting his daughter in the co-pilot seat, while he settled in the pilot one. "You see, sweetie, only a few people can pilot these ships. I would explain to you why, but you're too young to understand it. But you are one of these people and one day, if you want to, I'll show you how to do it."

"Soon?"

"When you're older, really older. But we'll soon take the Jumper in the air so we can go to the mainland. There are children there with whom you can play with. Come on, now, I still want to show you something else before dinner time."

Abby jumped out of her chair and took her father's hand. He had already explained to her after her nap that she'd have to always be either with him or with Elizabeth, since the City could be pretty dangerous for a girl of her age. Leaving the Jumper bay, her father led her to one of the balconies overhanging Atlantis. She was exactly like him; she loved the heights and looking down at her now, he could see a big smile on her face. He knew that she didn't grasp the fact that she was in an alien City, in another galaxy yet, but he was happy to see her like that, just enjoying being a little girl.  
They stayed there a long time and it wasn't till he noticed that the sun was starting to set that John looked at his watch.

"Well, Abby, it's time to go meet with Elizabeth. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

"I'm hungry, Daddy," she answered, taking his hand.

Hand in hand they went to the leader's office and once there they saw Elizabeth reading a book on her couch, waiting for them. She smiled as they approached, putting the book on the couch and standing up.

"You ready?"

"Yeah. Caldwell's summaries where really useful, and I haven't received a lot of new reports today," she answered, following them in the hallways towards the commissary, Sedge in tow. "So what did you two do?"

"Oh, I took Abby to the Jumper Bay…"

"Ah… Your pride and joy," she interrupted him, teasing him. "You want her to pilot them one day, huh?"

"Hey, she has the gene! And if she really wants to pilot a Jumper, who am I to prevent her from doing it?"

Elizabeth just smiled at that, knowing that she could never win in an argument involving both his daughter and his precious Puddle Jumpers. Soon after, they arrived in the commissary and seated at a table, alone, declining Ronon and Teyla's offer to join them; tonight they wanted to be a family. Abby needed to learn to live with the two of them alone, as much as with the rest of the City, if only when they both had to go off-world and leave her there.

"Lizzie?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Are we going to live here forever?"

"Well, it'll depend on a lot of things, mainly if they still need us here."

They both understood Abby's concern for her future life in Atlantis. She was still young, but she could grasp the fact that she'd be living far from the only home she knew and Dinah for a few years. Even they were a bit anxious in the beginning, not knowing what to expect at first, and then the Wraiths woke up, changing the whole deal. But the feeling had gone and they learnt to live there, now considering the City more home than Earth ever was.  
Abby would need time to adapt to her new life, but in the end, she'd probably manage better than the adults, given her young age. What would be the most difficult was the fact that they couldn't go back to Earth as often as she would need it.

"What are you and Abby going to do, tomorrow?"

"I don't really know. Maybe we'll start on our quarters, her room first like I said earlier. You?"

"I have to work if I want to leave early for the poker night."

"But you're not planning on spending the whole night playing poker?"

"No, Dad," she teased him which brought her to the receiving end of a mock glare. "When are you planning on testing the new recruits?"

"Actually, I think I should do that tomorrow. The sooner we know who's fit to go off-world and who isn't, the better it will be."

"Shouldn't you have given them some warning?"

"What? And where would be the fun? Plus, when there's an emergency, you can't take time to get prepared," he added and Elizabeth nodded, understanding what he meant. "Would you mind keeping Abby with you tomorrow? I know you have to work, but she can sit on the couch, or on the floor and play. I promise you she won't prevent you from working."

"You could have saved the speech; you know I don't mind spending time with Abby."

"Great! I don't know how long it will take though, so if I'm not done by the time you have to go play poker…"

"I'll take her with me and radio you to tell you. You know, it's girls' poker night, so she would be more than welcome."

"Maybe but…,"

"She won't eat junk food, and as soon as you're done, you'll come take her to put her to bed. I know how to take care of children, John," she added, slightly hurt by John's attitude, though, she reasoned, she had no reason for that.

"I know, Elizabeth, I know," he said, taking her hand in his. "Well, if you're done, girls, what do you say we go back to our quarters?"

Elizabeth agreed, taking Abby's plate to put it away with her tray. As soon as they left the commissary, John took Elizabeth's hand in his, letting his daughter walk before them with Sedge. Once in the residential area, he saw Sedge taking off, soon followed by a running Abby. He was ready to go after them but Elizabeth tugged at his hand and shook her head at him when he looked at her.

"Let them, John. It's better they run here than in the control tower, don't you think?"

"You're probably right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be this overprotective."

"Hey, she's your daughter and I'd be concerned if you weren't acting overprotective. I take it you didn't spend much time with her alone."

"No. We stayed at Clare and Dinah's all the time. It was easier for us. And now, I have to take care of her, all the time."

"You're not alone, John. I'm here to help you. I know how to take care of children, but I don't know day to day life with them. We'll learn together, ok?"

"And we'll do good," he nodded, pulling her towards him for a brief kiss. "Now, where are they? Because if you remember, we just came back this morning and neither of them know the place."

"And one of them as a particularly developed smell and hearing. Sedge!" she called her dog and a minute later she saw both her dog and Abby running towards them, the girl still possessing some energy. "See?" she said, turning towards her companion with a big grin on her lips.

John raised his hands in surrender before once more linking his fingers with Elizabeth's. The four of them then continued towards their quarters, though not quite ready to call it a night. As he suspected, Abby's late nap was making her stay awake way past her bedtime so they first wrote the letter for Dinah and then played cards. This night, they all went to sleep at the same hour, the girl falling asleep between the two adults after Elizabeth told her a story; both John and Elizabeth knew that for the time being with Abby sleeping with them, it would be difficult to stay up late, even if only for talking.  
Sleep wasn't coming easily that night for John, so he turned on his side and looked at his daughter and his lover, both of them sleeping peacefully. Only a few days ago, he thought that situation would never happen, but here they were, together, in Atlantis. He owed a certain general one; if it weren't for him, he and Abby would still be on Earth and he wouldn't be with Elizabeth. Elizabeth… He knew they'd soon have to spend some quality time together. Maybe one night he could ask Laura and Carson to baby-sit Abby and set a romantic dinner for Elizabeth and him. And like he told her earlier, he'd make it up for the night Abby interrupted.  
Still looking at her, he thought about the events of the past few days. Ever since they started dating, and even before, he knew Elizabeth would make a wonderful mom and she proved it to him with Abby. She's a natural; when he looked at them that afternoon in her office, he could see the bond starting to form between the two of them. Deep in thought, he didn't notice the woman stirring and opening her eyes slightly.

"Hey," she said, her voice rough from sleep. "Can't sleep?"

"No. Too much thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing important."

"John…," she urged and he knew she wouldn't let him go on this one.

"I was just thinking what a great mom you already are with Abby."

She blushed and reached to take his hand in hers. He leaned towards her, careful of his daughter, and gave her a chaste kiss.

"I mean it. You know, sometimes I wonder if you're not just too good to be true. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm not dreaming all of this. I still can't believe how you can love a guy like me."

"And I don't know why you fell for me when you could have any woman of the city. Hell, of the galaxy," she said, keeping her tone down for Abby.

It was true. Both of them had their insecurities about their couple, not knowing exactly why the other could be with them. It wasn't the first time they were discussing this subject but still their fears remained. They would lessen with more time, at least that was what they hoped. For the moment, they'd just have to trust the other and what they saw in their eyes.  
Despite herself, in the first few weeks of their relationship, Elizabeth had sometimes doubted John; after all, before they began dating, he had had his fair share of girls on planets his team had visited. He had noticed her attitude and one day, confronted her about it; she had confided in him and he reassured her as well as he could: yes there had been a lot of girls before, but that now there was only one. She had believed in him, knowing him and knowing when he lied, and she had never been deceived.

"I love you," she whispered, and he whispered them back.

They didn't often say those words to each other but both know they thought it nonetheless. They didn't need words to understand each other, their relationship was beyond that; it was always like that even when they weren't dating and were mere colleagues. They just knew each other well enough to have a conversation without uttering a single word.  
They finally fell asleep, keeping hold on the other's hand and facing each other despite Abby being between them.  
The next day went by fast for the three of them. After spending the morning with the new recruits, John joined his two girls for lunch and then went back to the gym. Elizabeth and Abby stayed in the leader's office most of the day, the young girl taking her nap on the couch. They hadn't talked a lot, Abby seeming to have retreated in her own little world, acknowledging the woman only in her father's presence. Elizabeth had thought things were better now with the girl, but this day had proved her the contrary; they would still need some time to get accustomed to the other  
Pausing for a moment, Elizabeth watched Abby lying on the floor, drawing with the crayons she took with her. She didn't really know what changed between the day before and today and she can't help but try to remember if she had done something wrong; they had had a good time and now she was barely speaking to her. Standing up from her chair, she went to sit on the floor beside Abby, hoping to get some sort of response this time.

"Hey, Abby. What are you drawing?" When she didn't get an answer, she continued, "it's beautiful. Is it for Daddy?"

"No, it's for Dinah," the girl finally said, not even looking up from her sheet of paper. "When will Daddy come?"

"I don't know, honey. But if he's not here in an hour, I'll take you with me, ok?"

"No, I wanna stay with Daddy."

"Yeah, I know. But Daddy has to work too. So am I, but it's easier for me to look after you than it is for your Daddy, you understand?"

Abby didn't answer and Elizabeth sighed for the nth time of the day. Standing up, she went back to her desk, wanting to be done before leaving for the poker night. But, just as she was opening a new file, her radio crackled to life.

"'Lizbeth?"

"Yes, John?" she answered and she saw Abby looking up at her, expectantly.

"I'm going to be a little late. The new recruits needed more time to rest than I thought."

"It's okay, I'll take Abby with me."

"Ok, where will you be?"

"Lieutenant Cadman's quarters. And we'll stop by the mess before going there to take some real food for Abby."

"Thanks. I'll come take her as soon as I can. Everything's okay?"

"Yeah, we're perfectly fine. See you later."

"Later."

"Daddy?" she heard Abby ask and she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, he still has a lot of work, you'll have to stay with me for a bit longer. Let me finish on that report and then we'll go, ok?"

Abby just nodded and Elizabeth could see she was disappointed. She made a mental note to talk to John about it as soon as she could; they had to figure out a way for the girl to feel at home here.  
Less than an hour later, the two of them left the office and went to the mess to collect something to eat for Abby. Elizabeth thought she should show the example and eat something healthy too but tonight she didn't want to; she'd be an example for Abby another day. They then went to Laura's quarters where the rest of the girls invited for the poker night were already there. The lieutenant motioned the young girl to sit on the bed to eat while Elizabeth took place around the table between Teyla and Kate. Sedge came to lie on the floor, besides the bed

"So, we all agree with the rules?" asked Laura, already shuffling the cards. "No work-related talk, we were all given a first name so no ranks and we'll have to wait till Abby leaves to speak about male-related topics. Okay?" she said and they all nodded. She started dealing the cards and turned to Elizabeth. "When will Colonel Sheppard take her by the way?"

"I don't know. He radioed me earlier to tell me it was taking longer than he had planned. Something about the new recruits needing to rest a lot…"

"Anyway, how was Earth, you two?" Kate asked both Laura and Elizabeth.

"Foreign," they said simultaneously and then smiled.

"No, really," the brunette continued, "I feel more at home here than I ever was on Earth. It's weird… And well, this trip was weird with me meeting Abby and thinking John wasn't coming back. But mine wasn't the most interesting trip," she said wickedly, turning towards the lieutenant.

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Spill, Laura, or I put in my veto and make it an order," Elizabeth threatened while the other women urged her too to tell them her story.

Knowing she couldn't win, Laura fake-dramatically sighed, looking at her cards before placing some chips in the middle of the table.

"Nothing really important… He just took me to Scotland to see his mother," she said, shrugging in the process.

"Then it's more serious than you told us, you liar," Lindsey Novak stated and the others nodded.

"Maybe… But let's save that for later. Shouldn't you be on the Daedalus, helping Hermiod, by the way?"

"He said he didn't need me, so I asked Colonel Caldwell if I could back out of this trip, and he oh-so-kindly agreed."

"How's it going with Abby?" Kate asked turning towards Elizabeth, lowering her voice so that the girl couldn't hear them.

"She's missing Dinah, she was her mom's housemate and she took care of her," she explained. "I think it'll take time for her to adjust to her life here."

"And between the two of you?" the psychiatrist inquired and Elizabeth was grateful for her to tackle the subject.

"I don't know. Yesterday, everything seemed fine but today… She had barely spoken to me. I don't know what I did…"

"You know, sometimes you don't need to do anything for kids to give you the cool treatment," Lindsey said, not even looking up from her cards.

"Do you want me to talk with her?" Kate offered.

"Thanks, but I'll talk to John first. It's his daughter, he should know what's wrong."

A few minutes passed before Abby finished her dinner and came towards Elizabeth, silently asking her to take her on her lap. Giving a look to the other women, the diplomat indulged and pushed her chair slightly away from the table to allow the girl to sit.

"Can I play too?"

"This game is a little too complicated for you to play. But in a few years, if you want, I'll teach you. But for now, why don't you play with me?"

"'K."

"Did you eat well, Abby?" Laura asked and the girl nodded without looking at her.

"When is Daddy coming?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. But I'm sure he'll be here as soon as he can. He misses you too."

Abby didn't respond, running her fingers over Elizabeth's cards. The latter looked up at the others and made a sign that they could continue their game. Since it was her turn, Teyla requested two cards from Kate, who was the dealer for this turn.  
After two more turns, Elizabeth felt Abby leaning more towards her and when she lowered her gaze to her, she saw her yawning. Slowly stroking her head, she dropped a kiss on the girl's hair.

"If John hasn't come in half an hour to take her, I'll have to leave you. She's exhausted."

"She hadn't taken her nap?" Kate asked.

"She has, actually, but with the constant buzzing from the control room, I doubt she slept well. I would have taken her back to our quarters, but I told the new members that I would be in my office all day if they needed something."

"They would have understood," Laura assured her.

"I know, but I don't want my private life interfering with my job. This is something both John and I agreed with when we first started dating."

Within minutes, Abby was fast asleep in Elizabeth's arms, a fist curled up the woman's shirt. Looking down at the small face, she once again wondered what had gone wrong in just a night. Of course, she hadn't expected everything to be fine in a matter of days, but she hadn't expected that neither.

"Elizabeth?" Teyla's voice jerked her out of her thoughts and she noticed it was her turn.

"I fold," she said, placing her cards face down on the table.

"So, now that we talked about my and Elizabeth's love life, maybe we should move onto somebody else's?" Laura suggested, turning towards Teyla who suddenly blushed and lowered her head. "Oh, come on, don't tell me you and Ronon…"

"There's nothing between me and Ronon," the Athosian leader said forcefully, wanting to end this conversation as quickly as possible.

"I saw the look you shared yesterday in the sparring room…"

"He was just waiting for me to accept my defeat," she interrupted Elizabeth.

"Maybe, but it was pretty intense."

The other women agreed, all of them mentioning moments where they saw the two Pegasus natives sharing intense gazes. Teyla decided to let them talk, knowing that she couldn't say anything to stop them from thinking that there was something between Ronon and herself.  
A knock at the door, followed by it sliding open, interrupted their discussion.

"Sorry to disturb your girls night, ladies," John said stepping into the room.

"It's ok, sir," Laura answered while he made his way towards Elizabeth and Abby. "Actually, we were wondering if you would ever show up. Tough day?"

"That you can say, Lieutenant. These new civilian recruits are easily tired so I had to stop the training more times than I thought. They're even worse than McKay was in the first few months; I hadn't thought it was possible. Anyway, I came to relieve you from Abby."

"She fell asleep a few minutes ago," Elizabeth told him while he took his daughter from her.

"Did she behave herself?"

"Yes, don't worry. I won't be too long," she said, kissing him goodbye, while the others awed, earning them a death glare from Elizabeth.

"It's okay, take your time, enjoy your night. I'll wait for you," he assured her, kissing her once more, before walking towards the door and opening it.

"Ok, now it's time for some serious talk," he heard Laura say as the door was closing behind him.

Abby in his arms, he headed towards their quarters, Sedge in tow; they didn't know each other a few days back but now you wondered if she wasn't Abby's dog from the beginning, seeing how she always seemed to stay with the girl. Once in there, he changed her into her pyjamas, doing it without waking her up and put her in bed, before going to breathe some fresh air on the balcony. The moons were already high in the sky and he regretted to not have spent a lot of time with his daughter that day. He knew that sometimes work would come in the way, but he still had hoped to spend sometime here and there with her.  
Going back inside, he sat on the bed beside Abby, seeing her sleep peacefully. The quietness of the room and his tiredness soon made him fall asleep too.  
Nearly two hours later, Elizabeth entered the room quietly, not wanting to disturb Abby's sleep. She immediately saw John sleeping, half-sitting, half-lying on the bed. She smiled at the sight before her before heading towards the bed to sit on John's side. She knew he was tired, but she also knew he couldn't sleep like that. She brought her hand to his face to stroke his cheek and felt him turn in her hand, gently kissing her palm.

"I'm sorry to have fallen asleep."

"Don't be," Elizabeth shushed him with a finger on his lips. "You were tired. I didn't want to wake you up but otherwise you were going to ache in the morning."

"Then, thank you. You're coming to bed," he asked, shedding off his t-shirt and pants.

"Yeah, in a bit," she replied, standing up and starting unbuttoning her shirt.

"Let me help you," John said, pushing her hands out of the way and kissing her lightly. "You seem to have something on your mind… What is it, Elizabeth?"

"Abby was distant today. I don't know why, John. I thought about it since I noticed it and I don't think I've done anything, so why was she acting like that?"

"You knew it was going to take sometime for her to accept you completely in her life. And now, she also has a new place to adapt to. It was probably too much to take at once for a girl of her age, but it wasn't like we really had a choice."

"You're probably right…"

John could see that she wasn't totally convinced by what he told her. Wanting to take her mind off of it, he stopped undoing the buttons of her shirt and put his hands around her waist. Leaning towards her, he dropped butterfly-like kisses on her cheeks, eyelids and nose before taking her lips in a sweet but passionate kiss. Her hands came to rest at the base of his nape.  
They were both panting by the time he released her lips. Looking into her eyes, he saw that something was still bothering her so he asked her what it was.

"I'm frustrated," she admitted in a whisper.

"Why?" he asked, not understanding what she meant.

"To put it bluntly, I need to get laid, John."

"Oh! Oh…"

"I love Abby, believe me I do, but we haven't been together in…"

"I know. I'm sorry. I know that when she interrupted us when we were at the SGC I told you I'd make it up to you…"

"It's ok, John. I know you will as soon as we can."

"You know what? I promise you that once we're in our new quarters, you'll have one of the best nights in your life."

"I hope you don't overestimate yourself, Colonel," she teased and John started to tickle her for that. "Ok, ok, stop, I believe you. We should be more careful or we're going to wake Abby up. And we should go to sleep too. I don't know what you planned to do tomorrow, but I have to work."

"I don't know yet," he lied, actually already having an idea.

They finished changing for bed and then went to bed, John between his two girls like he liked to call them. Without waking up, Abby snuggled further into her father's side and the adults fell asleep rather quickly.  
The next day, Elizabeth didn't see John and Abby much. And Sedge for that matter since her dog now seemed kind of reluctant to leave the girl. They had lunch with her, but aside from that, she spent the whole day without seeing them. That kind of worried her; she was pretty sure they were up to something but she didn't know what. With John she could expect anything but she hoped for Abby's sake that her father hadn't done something stupid.  
With a sigh, she closed the last document on her laptop and was gathering her things up when she spotted Rodney coming in the direction of her office.

"Great, you're still there. Do you know where Sheppard is?"

"No…"

"Oh come on, I can't believe you don't!"

"And why's that?"

"Well, now you and him are…, you know, I thought you'd…"

"You thought that we'd always know where the other is? Sorry to disappoint you, Rodney, but no. Why did you need to see him?" she asked, curious at what the scientist would want to her companion.

"It can wait…"

"Rodney…," she urged, now she knew he was up to something.

"It was about his daughter…"

"We won't let you test her. She's a child, how can you ask something like that?"

"But she has the ATA gene. You know how rare it is; though given that Sheppard is her father, that's not as surprising…"

"I can't believe it! You're jealous!"

"What? No!"

"Yes, you are. You're jealous that a girl of her age has the gene naturally and can probably use it without effort like her father."

"Ok, maybe. But that's not the point…"

"And you know our answer, McKay," John said, entering the office with Abby and Sedge. "Like we already told you while we were still on Earth, I'm sure she'll be glad to help you in a few years."

"Fine. Do what you want," he muttered, leaving the office

"You're done?" John asked Elizabeth.

"Yes. How was your day, Abby?" she asked; the girl just shrugged in response and Elizabeth looked helplessly towards John.

"Why don't you answer Elizabeth, sweetie?"

"It was fine," she finally said.

"What did you two do?"

"Daddy said it was a secret."

"Really?" Elizabeth said, turning towards John and raising an eyebrow at him.

"Why don't we go eat something and then we'll go to our quarters and I'll tell you?"

She just nodded in answer, wondering not for the first time of the day to what he was up to. Knowing that she had means to make him tell her everything, she put that thought to the back of her mind and just enjoyed being with them. Though Abby's attitude was the same as the day before, now that John knew she could expect some help from him, like earlier.  
Their dinner was spent with Elizabeth trying to make John tell her what he had done all day. But he refused to surrender, though promising her he hadn't done something stupid. They left the commissary and she let John take her hand in his, since she was still too deep in thought to see where she was going; though she was sure she could go to their quarters with her eyes closed, and the same went for the infirmary and her office.  
She was taken out from her thoughts when she realized that while they were in the residential area, he was leading them the opposite way to their quarters.

"John? Where are we going? I thought we were going to our quarters?'

'We are, Elizabeth, we are."

"John?"

He didn't answer her but instead stopped before a door. That was when she realized where they were; they were just outside the family quarters they had chosen as their new ones. She turned towards him to ask him why they were there when he opened the door. He took her hand and led her inside, Abby and Sedge following. There, in the main room, she could see most of the things they kept in his quarters.

"Did you…? John, what…?" she stammered, not really knowing what to say.

"I thought that the sooner we get into our new home, the better it'd be for Abby. And for us," he added in a hushed voice while encircling her waist from behind.

"Why didn't you tell me? I should have helped you."

"I wanted it to be a surprise for you. Lorne and Ronon helped me to move some things but otherwise, I've done it by myself. So…?"

"I like it, it's perfect," she said, tears in her eyes, turning in his arms to grab his face with her hands and kiss him.

"Now, we just need a 'home sweet home' sign. Remind me of it next time we are on Earth, ok?"

She giggled at that and then hugged him tightly.

"I knew you were up to something," she whispered in his ear. "So, Abby," she continued, releasing John and turning towards his daughter, "do you like your new bedroom?"

"She loves her new furniture and toys," her father answered for her while she was nodding excitedly.

"Great. Why don't you show me your room?" she asked, holding her hand out for Abby to take.

The girl accepted the hand and pulled her towards the room they had designated for her. The bed was the only Lantean furniture in the room, the rest was from Earth. On the chest, Elizabeth could see the framed photo they took at the fair and two others; one of Abby and John and the other of Abby, Dinah and Clare. Children books were also put on the chest, and some of the stuffed toys they brought with them were on the bed, making Elizabeth wonder where the girl could sleep. Her eyes finished scanning the room and she turned towards Abby and crouched to be at her level.

"So, do you think Daddy did a good job in your room? Or do you want to change something?"

"It's okay…"

"But…," Elizabeth urged, knowing that the girl wanted to add something.

"He forgot Teddy in the other room…"

"Then, we'll go pick him up later, ok?"

"Ok."

"I don't remember seeing him there. You sure you left him there?" he asked his daughter and she shrugged in response; she just knew that her Teddy was missing. "Ok, like Elizabeth said, we'll go check the old room later. But first, why don't we continue our visit?"

Saying that, John steered them both towards another room. The door opened and Elizabeth could see that John arranged it as a sort of playroom for Abby. The bed that was in the room was pushed against the farthest wall and he put an Athosian carpet on the floor. Toys were scattered around the room and Elizabeth deduced that Abby was probably playing in there while her father moved their stuff in the quarters.

"Teddy!" Abby cried as she saw the stuffed bear sitting on the bed.

"I knew it wasn't in our old quarters," John said, putting an arm around Elizabeth's waist. "Remember it?" he asked, pointing out the carpet. "We didn't know where to put it when they gave it to us. I thought that maybe that way, it could be useful too."

"You had a good idea."

"My pleasure. You want to see our room while Abby is playing?"

"Lead the way…"

Taking her hand once more, he led her to the door of their bedroom and stopped, turning towards her instead of opening it. Elizabeth was intrigued, wondering for the nth time this evening what he was planning.

"Close your eyes," he said, surprising her.

"What?"

"I want you to close your eyes, Elizabeth, please. Trust me."

"I trust you, John, you know that, but why do you want me to close my eyes?" John gave her a pointed look and with a sigh, she consented and closed her eyes.

"Just in case," he added, holding one of his hands in front of her face, and she mentally rolled her eyes at his attitude. She heard the door swishing open and John soon pulled her in their bedroom. "Ok, I guess this is it. Be honest and tell me what you really think," he said and she had to admit that she had never seen, or rather heard, him so nervous before, besides the day he introduced her to Abby.

Finally, he removed his hand and she waited for a few seconds before slowly opening her eyes. She gasped as she saw what he had done with their room; candles were placed on every available surface and just waited to be lit. The bed was covered with the quilt her grandmother gave her when she left for college and which she had brought back from her last trip on Earth. Windows were covered by voile-like curtains Elizabeth suspected he requested either from Teyla or from the Athosians themselves. All in all, their bedroom, as well as the rest of their quarters felt homey. And this prompted a question in Elizabeth's mind.

"John, how long were you planning this?" she asked, turning towards him.

"What? Us moving in new quarters? Since you mentioned it when we were still on Earth. But if you're talking about making our quarters cosier, then I was thinking about it for a long time. So, do you like it?" he asked and she could hear his anxiety in his voice.

"Yes, yes. It's perfect, John," she answered him, kissing him on the lips.

The kiss she wanted chaste soon became passionate and they were both breathless by the time they broke it. Resting his forehead against hers, he recaptured her lips for sweet little kisses before leaving her face to nuzzle her neck.

"What do you say we put Abby to bed and spend some quality time together?"

"I say that today you're full of great ideas, Colonel," she replied, moaning under his ministrations.

Stepping back, John took her hand and led her out of their room and towards the playroom where they left Abby. They found her still wide awake, playing with one of her dolls on the carpet, Sedge lying not so far from her, keeping an eye on her new protégée.

"Ok, honey, time for your bath before going to bed."

"I'm not tired," she pouted.

"Come on, Abby," Elizabeth intervened, holding her right hand out for Abby to take. "I'm going to give you your bath and then I'll read you a story."

"You sure?" John asked.

"Yes. Now, go catch up on your reading of War and Peace, we won't be too long," she replied, leaving the room with Abby.

"So, I guess this is just you and me," he said towards Sedge but the dog followed them out of the room. "Or just me…"

John closed the door of the playroom behind him and sat on one of the sofas in the main room, the book in his hands. He could hear the water running and some splashing coming from the bathroom; like he already told her, he always knew that Elizabeth was a natural mother. Even though things weren't perfect with Abby, she didn't give up trying and he admired her for that.  
They came out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth carrying Abby wrapped in a towel in her arms. His daughter waved at him while they went to her bedroom and he waved back, before turning his thoughts once more on his new family life. He would have never thought he could have a real family life, especially after coming to Atlantis. But then he met Elizabeth and here they were now, living together with his daughter. He couldn't help but think about Clare and wondered if it was the life she wanted him to give Abby when she left her to him in her will. Of course it wasn't, he was sure she had never wanted her daughter to live in another galaxy threatened by life-sucking aliens.  
Elizabeth closing Abby's door jolted him from his thoughts and he motioned for her to come sit on his lap. She obliged, wrapping one of her arms around his neck while she rest her other hand on his chest. She leaned in, intending to kiss him but he avoided her and she frowned, wondering what it meant.

"Maybe we could go to our own bedroom," he suggested a sly look on his face.

"Maybe…," she agreed, leaning in again and finally capturing his lips in a slow but ardent kiss. They broke the kiss and Elizabeth looked into his eyes, a mischievous glint in them. "I hope you're ready to make it up to me," she said, standing up and holding out her hand for John to take.

"More than ready. But could you wait here for a few more minutes? I have a few things to check before."

Without allowing her time to answer, he let go of her hand and left hurriedly for their bedroom, closing the door behind him. Shrugging, Elizabeth went to stand before the window, looking out towards the starry sky. A few minutes passed before she felt two arms wrap themselves around her waist. She wasn't surprised; she heard him come into the room but decided against turning to acknowledge him.  
He nuzzled her neck and she leaned her head slightly to give him better access. After a few kisses and nips, and she hoped for him it wouldn't leave any marks, his hands slid from her waist and he took her hands to turn her towards him and then lead her towards their bedroom. When the door opened, she gasped at the sight before her; the room was bathed by candlelight, giving it a romantic atmosphere. Her grandmother's quilt on the bed was turned down and she wanted nothing more than to be in that bed with John, making love to him.

"Time to resume where we were left the last time," John said, before starting to shed her of her clothes, while she was doing the same with his.

 _To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 

One month went by quickly; the Daedalus was on its way back to Earth and was now out of communication range. John and his team resumed their missions though they never stayed away for more than a few hours. Even though Abby was used to not seeing her father everyday when she was living on Earth, she had come to rely a lot more on him since he took her with him to Atlantis and he didn't want to leave her for too long. He knew that one day, he'd probably have to stay off-world overnight but he hoped that when it'll happen, Abby would be okay to stay with Elizabeth alone. For the moment, even though things were steady, Elizabeth told him that she was still a bit withdrawn when they were alone. The members of the expedition also got used to Abby's presence in the City and the couple often heard that it was refreshing to have a child in Atlantis. With some couples already existing in the Atlantis, and some new blossoming relationships since the new members arrived, they wouldn't be surprised if one of them came to see them one day to announce that they were pregnant.

Elizabeth was now in her office, working on some reports when John, Abby and Sedge burst into the room. She sighed, putting her stylus down onto her desk and looked up at her companion.

"John… How many times have I told you to not run in the Control Room if it's not an emergency?"

"A few times…?" he tried and he knew she wasn't in the mood for joking when she gave him a pointed look.

"And I thought that as her father you should show the example to Abby… You wanted something?" she decided to change the subject.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to take Abby to the mainland tomorrow."

"And you haven't waited until tonight to tell me because…" She trailed off, wondering which excuse he would invoke this time.

"Because I love to interrupt you while you're working? And, I also wanted to know if you were coming with us?"

"I'd love too, but I have briefings all day long. And in between I have work."

"You don't need me for those?"

"No, I'll handle them. The first one will be with the scientists, the second with Major Lorne's team about their mission and then I have to see Carson."

"Why? Are you ill?" he asked, worried.

"I'm fine," she said, nonetheless touched that he was worrying. "I just have my monthly check-up."

"Oh, ok."

"You should ask Teyla if she wants to come with you."

"I was going to," he agreed, having already thought about that himself. "So, I guess we'll leave you to your work. See you tonight?"

"Yeah," she answered as he leaned in to kiss her. "Bye, Abby."

"I wanna stay with Lizzie," Abby then said, surprising them both.

"Sweetie, Elizabeth has to work, why don't you come with me…"

"No," the girl simply replied, raising her arms and thus silently asking Elizabeth to sit on her lap, to which the woman complied.

"It's ok, John. She can stay. And by the way, you have work too, so why don't you go to your office for a couple of hours and actually do work. Should I remind you you have a mission briefing the day after tomorrow and if you want to go the mainland tomorrow, I'd suggest you to work on it today."

"I see I don't really have a choice. Fine," he pouted and Elizabeth had to laugh at him. "Contact me on the radio if you need me," he told her before leaving the office.

"So, Abby, why didn't you want to stay with Daddy?" Elizabeth wanted to know. She wasn't sure the girl would tell her, but she had to try. "You know, if you don't want Daddy to know, it can stay between you and me…," she tried, hoping that it would make her decide to start talking. She wanted nothing more than to lift the girl from what she had on her mind.

"I miss Mommy and Dinah," she answered, sniffing and snuggling closer to Elizabeth.

The diplomat tightened her arms around her little body, kissing the top of her head in the process. She wasn't surprised by the girl's confidence, but she couldn't really do anything about that besides being there for Abby. They stayed a few minutes in a complete silence, Elizabeth's chin resting on top of Abby's head, rocking her gently. She still heard some sniffles here and there and knew she should do something to cheer the girl up if only a little. She didn't have to wonder anymore when her eyes fell onto her laptop.

"You know," Elizabeth said after a while and Abby looked up at her, "I think I could use a break, so why don't we play for a little while?"

"Play what?"

"I think it's time for me to teach you one of my favourite games… Solitaire," she finally said, opening the game on her laptop. "And when I'll have to get back to my work, maybe you could draw something for Dinah and we'll send it to her as soon as possible," she suggested and Abby nodded. "Ok, first…"

When John entered the control room a couple of hours later, he immediately noticed that Abby was still sitting on Elizabeth's lap and both were looking intently at the screen in front of them. He stopped, watching them interact for a moment, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw Chuck smiling knowingly at him. He shook his head at him and started walking again towards his companion's office. He was crossing the catwalk when he heard his daughter scream and saw her jump down from Elizabeth's lap. He nearly burst into the room, worried, and the diplomat looked up, surprised to find him there.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I've won!" Abby shouted as she ran towards him and he had no choice but to lift her in his arms.

"What are you talking about, sweetheart?" he asked again and when she showed no sign of responding, he turned towards Elizabeth.

"I've taught her to play Solitaire and she just won her first game alone," she answered, seeming really proud of Abby.

"Oh, don't tell me you got her hooked on it, too? As if I didn't have enough problems with you addicted to it already," he said in a mock complaining voice and that earned him a slap on his arm from Elizabeth. "I hope for you that she won't end up playing for hours on end like you tend to do from time to time," he warned her with a pointed look. "Anyway, don't tell me you spent two hours playing Solitaire?"

"What?" Elizabeth nearly squealed, surprised as she was looking at her watch. "And I still have a ton of work waiting for me…," she sighed.

"Here's the deal. I'm done for today so I'm going to take Abby with me. You keep on working for as long as you need and we'll see you later, ok?"

"Ok, I'll try to wrap this up as soon as possible."

"Then come on, Abby, time to go."

"No, I wanna keep playing with Lizzie."

"See? You've already corrupted her," he said, giving her once more a pointed look. "Elizabeth has to work but we can play together if you want." Abby shrugged in response and John feigned to be offended. "Ok, then, we're going. See you later."

"Later," she replied as they were leaving the room.

Elizabeth shook her head and closed the game before opening one of the many files waiting for her. She sighed, seeing it was sent by one of the scientists and that it was fifteen pages long; she didn't really want to read that now, but it wasn't like she had a choice, she had to. One day, she should just ask McKay or Zelenka to sum that kind of reports up for her because she was no scientist and fifteen pages of this or that meant absolutely nothing for her most of the time.

The next day was spent on the mainland for Teyla, Abby and John's part while Elizabeth had to stay in Atlantis, working. It was the second time John brought her to see the Athosians; the first time they had gone along with Elizabeth and had stayed well into the night, and Abby had fallen asleep in the Jumper during the ride back home. Now, she was playing with some children and Sedge while he was sitting on a bench next to Halling. The man was telling him about life after Jinto's mother's death by the end of the Wraiths. Even though the situation was different from John's, he still could find some similarity.

"It's a good thing you both have Doctor Weir in your lives. She may never replace her mother in your daughter's heart but she needed a role model. Jinto has the chance that among our people we are really close to each other; he has several women to keep an eye out on him. Even Teyla given her rather young age was there for him, and she still is when she's around."

"Yeah, and I'm grateful to have Elizabeth. I'm sure that even if we weren't together she would be there for Abby. She's a natural at being a mother. I know that things aren't perfect, but it's going to work. Abby had a lot to take in in a short period of time, but it gets better everyday. There are still times when she didn't really acknowledge Elizabeth but they're getting fewer and fewer. Yesterday, they spent two hours together playing a game, and they had so much fun that they didn't see time pass."

"And how's Doctor Weir adapting to the situation?"

"It was difficult at the beginning. Actually, it was difficult for the three of us; I wasn't prepared to take care of Abby, not like that. And the fact that I learned about it just after I told Elizabeth the truth about Abby was another difficulty. But I took my responsibilities; I was ready to stay on Earth to be with her, but General O'Neill allowed me to take Abby to Atlantis. There was only Elizabeth and I and all of the sudden Abby came in the equation, so yeah it wasn't easy at first. But it starts to get better. A few days after coming back, we moved into bigger quarters; we started over in a way. Actually, I think Elizabeth is copying better with the situation than I. Which is strange in a way, you know. Elizabeth was right saying that we both have to learn how to take care of a child."

"I understand what you mean, and I hope things will get better and better with each day passing. Losing the one who gave you life isn't easy for any child and it's a chance that they have people looking for them. I know that Jinto still thinks about his mother although he never talks about her with me. It will be the same for your daughter. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

"Thanks Halling."

The Athosian just nodded in response and left him sitting on the bench watching the children play. Soon, it'd be time for John and Abby to go back to Atlantis. He didn't know yet if Teyla would come back with them or if she would stay for the night with her people. Just as he was thinking that, the woman in question came towards him.

"Hey, Teyla. How's the rest of your people?"

"They're fine, thank you. Will we leave soon?"

"Yes. If you want to stay for the night, I can send someone to take you tomorrow morning so you'll be there in time for our briefing about our next mission."

"I'll go back with you and Abby."

"Fine. Then, I think it's our cue to leave. Abby?" he called her and she came running towards him, Sedge in tow. "We have to go back home, sweetie."

"I wanna stay here!" she whined, pouting.

"We can't. I promise we'll come back soon. Now, go tell goodbye to your friends, we're waiting for you."

Teyla watched the still pouting girl walk towards the Athosian children she had been playing with. She couldn't help but sigh at seeing them so carefree; it was like they had never seen the horror the Wraiths caused in their wake. Since they came to Atlantis, life sort of changed for them, they didn't need to fear for the Wraiths to come and cull them as they did. There, they were safer, even if the Wraiths did come, they could go hide in the City, under its shield and cloak.

"You have time for that," John said, jolting her out of her thoughts. She turned towards him, raising her eyebrow to ask for an explanation. "I mean, you're young, you should make the most of your youth and wait to have children of your own."

"Oh… No, John, I wasn't thinking about that. Is it what you feel about Abby?"

"What? No! It might sound a bit cliché but Abby is one of the best things that happened in my life these last few years."

"You're right though. I have time to think about children. Though by my age, my mother already had me. But, I guess I need to find the father, first."

"You already have," John muttered.

"Excuse me? I didn't catch that."

"Oh, it's nothing, I was just talking to myself. So, we're going?"

Abby joined them and the four of them left towards the Jumper that John had landed in a nearby clearing. The trip back to the City was uneventful; Abby was sat on the floor at the back of the Jumper, playing with Sedge while Teyla took the seat beside John. They talked about the next day's mission which should be uneventful, seeing as no trace of human life had been detected by the MALP they had sent a few days prior.

While Teyla went to her room to drop a few things her people gave her, John, Abby and Sedge went to see Elizabeth but Chuck told them that she had a briefing and would probably not be free for at least another two hours. So instead, they went to their quarters and John gave his daughter her bath before settling down on the couch, with her on his lap, reading her a story.

That was where Elizabeth found them when she entered the room an hour later, tired of her day. John shifted Abby and motioned for her to come and sit on his lap. Elizabeth kissed Abby's forehead and exchanged a brief kiss with her companion before she let her head rest against John's, turning towards Abby.

"Did you have fun on the mainland?" she asked the girl.

"Yeah! I played with Jinto, and Anya, and Saski, and…"

The list went on and on as Abby listed all the children she played with and what she did during the day. Elizabeth and John listened attentively to her, both glad that she not only made friends but also spent a good time with them. She was obviously quite excited of her day on the mainland and they loved seeing her like that, acting like the child she is.

Later that night after they had put a more than tired Abby to bed, Elizabeth led John to their room and started to shed him of his clothes. She knew that usually on nights before he had to go off-world he loved his rest, but tonight she was feeling cheeky. And in the aftermath of their lovemaking, as he was already asleep, she laid with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and couldn't shake off this nagging feeling that something would go wrong.

The next day, they spent an hour or so in the mission briefing, Rodney and Elizabeth explaining what they would have to do. The MALP they had sent through had detected some sort of energy readings though no visible trace of civilisation. Upon hearing that, McKay had immediately requested that his team had to investigate it, just in case it could be a ZPM. So now, John was in Elizabeth's office, saying goodbye to Abby.

"I'll be back in four hours, sweetie. If you need anything, you ask Elizabeth, ok?"

"I want to come with you,"

"No, it can be dangerous. But I'll spend the rest of the day with you. I should be there just before you wake up from your nap time," he added, kissing her on the cheek, before standing up to face Elizabeth. "You look worried," he noticed, "something's wrong?"

"I just have a bad feeling about this mission."

"Hey, it's a simple recon mission. And hopefully, we may even come back with a ZPM."

"Be careful, please."

"I'll keep an eye out on Rodney, I promise."

"John…" she sighed, she didn't want him to joke at the moment.

"I will be."

He took her in his arms for a few seconds before releasing her and kissing her lightly on the lips. He left the room after giving her a reassuring smile and she followed, stopping with Abby in the control room where she ordered the sergeant to dial the Gate. She watched the wormhole form and the team step into it, John with one last look and wave towards them.

"Be safe," Elizabeth whispered as usual as the Gate disengaged.

On the other side, his team was already waiting for him, Rodney seeming impatient, when John emerged from the wormhole. He ordered Ronon to take the point while he covered their six and they started their short journey towards the source of the energy. He hadn't told Elizabeth, but deep inside, he had the same bad feeling. He hoped that they were both wrong, though he knew that everything was possible in this galaxy.

"John? You ok?" Teyla asked as she walked at his side.

"Yeah, yeah. I just have a lot on my mind."

"What is it?" she wanted to know and he actually considered telling her the truth for a moment, but finally decided against it; he didn't want to seem paranoid.

"Nothing too important."

"It is if it clouds your mind from this mission. You know you can tell me."

"It's just a gut feeling," he admitted, knowing that she probably wouldn't have let him go. "Like something would go wrong."

"What? What would go wrong?" McKay picked up, and he stopped, turning towards them. "What are you talking about, Sheppard?"

"It's nothing, just forget it, ok. But I'd like everybody to stay on their guard, you know, just in case."

"We will, Sheppard," Ronon answered before he resumed walking.

Half an hour later, McKay finally told them to stop; the source of the energy readings was within a fifty meters distance.

"I see nothing," Ronon said, turning to observe the clearing in the middle of which they stopped.

"It is there, my sensors are picking up something, so it has to be there."

"McKay, there's nothing but us in this clearing. Unless it is cloaked," he added as an afterthought. He picked up a small rock and threw it in the open.

"What are you doing?" Rodney asked, exasperated by the Colonel's attitude. "It can't be cloaked. What I'm picking up is not powerful enough to power up a cloak."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I am, ok?" he answered the Satedan who asked the question.

"So where is it?" John wanted to know.

"I don't know! So now, just stop bugging me and let me work!"

He took a few steps away from the rest of the team, determined to find the origin of the energy. Teyla hadn't said anything during the exchange between the three men, observing her surroundings.

"Remind me why we didn't take a Jumper, Sheppard?"

"I think it was because McKay thought it was closer to the Gate than it actually is."

"Why is it always my fault?" the scientist asked, turning towards the two men. John was ready to answer him when Teyla's voice interrupted them.

"Underground…"

"What?" the Earthlings said, surprised while Ronon looked at her, waiting for an explanation.

"What if it is underground?"

"You might be right," McKay replied, snapping his fingers a few times.

"So what do we do, now?"

"We'll search the immediate surroundings," John answered, "and if we find nothing, then we'll go back to Atlantis and take a Jumper to scout around a more important area. Teyla, McKay you take the East and South of the clearing and Ronon and I will take the North and West. We'll meet here in half an hour."

"What? But that's not enough time!"

"McKay, we'll come back with a Jumper," John sighed before gesturing to his team-mate that they were going.

"Do you think like McKay that it could be one of your ZPM?" Ronon asked him after a few minutes.

"I don't know. I guess it could be possible, but then why would it be here? There's nothing on this planet as far as we can tell. But maybe the Ancients hid it there for that reason. Like I said, I don't know."

"Yes, but underground?"

"That's a mystery for me. But then again, they already built an entire City underground so…"

"Couldn't it be a trap from the Genii? I heard they have underground bases."

"True, but I don't think so. Even though I don't really like it, they are our allies now. I don't trust them, but I don't think they would do that."

"I hope you're right, Sheppard."

They reached the edge of the forest surrounding the clearing and stepped in it in case the entrance was hidden in there. They wouldn't go far anyway; now wasn't the time to get lost.

"If it's really a ZPM, what could it bring to Atlantis?"

"We could power up more sections of the City and if, and God I hope it won't happen, but if the Wraith attack us, we'll have better means to fight them. And if one day we find a third one, the City could fly. I don't know if someone told you but it was how the Ancients came to Pegasus in the first place. See, the City was on Earth centuries ago and they suffered from a plague so they left Earth in their flying City. I still remember when Doctor Jackson had told General O'Neill that the City flew; he hadn't believed it for a second. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so they left aboard Atlantis and settled here in the Pegasus Galaxy."

"And that… plague, they suffered?"

"It could be a problem. General O'Neill's team, back when he was a Colonel, went to the research site in Antartica and there they found a woman. An Ancient woman to be precise, I believe her name was Ayiana. She carried the plague and SG1 and the research team fell ill. She saved them but she died in the process, and I think that was before she could help O'Neill, but they've found a way. I think it's possible that the Ancients might have continued their researches to find a cure to the plague, we haven't found anything in the labs we explored but I guess there are others in other sections of the City."

"Wouldn't it have been risky to have a sample of something that could kill you?"

"Yes, but us scientists love to take risks. It's for the love of the science like we say."

Teyla eyed him suspiciously; as anyone else in Atlantis, she knew that the scientist wasn't prone to take risks. Actually if he could stay as away as possible from any risks, he would. Though she admitted that sometimes he took risks with full knowledge of the facts, like that time when they were Ford's prisoners and under the enzyme influence.

"There seems to be nothing here," she finally said, "we should join Ronon and Colonel Sheppard. Maybe they've found something."

"They would have contact us by radio," McKay replied.

"Probably, but we should still go. Like Colonel Sheppard said, we'll come back with a Jumper and cover more terrain."

"Yeah…"

Reluctantly, Rodney followed Teyla to the rendezvous point where John and Ronon were already waiting. They hadn't found anything either so John decided that it was time to go back to Atlantis to request a Jumper from Elizabeth; maybe the scanner in them could find something they couldn't see.

"McKay, dial the Gate," John ordered the scientist. Once it was done, John sent their IDC and was ready to go through the Gate when McKay stopped them. "What is it?"

"I'm picking up an energy surge."

"Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know 'cos I don't know why I got it," Rodney snapped at him.

"Well, we should go through the Gate before it closes, we'll investigate that too when we come back."

Meanwhile, in Atlantis, Elizabeth left her office, where Abby was taking a nap, when she heard the Gate activation.

"Who is it?"

"Colonel Sheppard's team, Doctor."

"They're early. Lower the shield, Sergeant." They waited for a minute or so before the wormhole started to be unstable and the Gate deactivated itself. "What happened?" she asked worried that Atlantis first team hadn't come back.

"I don't know, Ma'am."

"Radek?" she contacted the Czech scientist by radio.

"Doctor Weir?"

"I need you in the control room; we seemed to have some problems with the Gate."

"I'll be right there."

"Thanks. Major Lorne," she then called by radio.

"Yes Ma'am?"

"I want you and your team to stand by. Colonel Sheppard's team had sent their IDC but none of them came through. The Gate disengaged itself and I have Zelenka checking that out. Once we're able to dial the planet and if we have no radio contact, I want your team to go there to check on them."

"Understood. We'll take a Jumper just in case if it's ok with you."

"Permission granted. Weir out. Tell Doctor Zelenka that I'll be in my office if he needs me."

"Very well, Doctor."

When she turned towards her office, she saw Abby at the door, holding her Teddy in a hand and rubbing her eyes with the other. Despite her being worried about the team, she couldn't help the smile that crept up on her face at that sight. She crossed the catwalk and picked the girl up in her arms.

"You slept well?" she asked her.

"Mmh Mmh. Daddy?"

"He's going to be a little late," Elizabeth said. She hated lying to Abby but she really didn't know what happened to the team and why they hadn't gone through the Gate, nor contacted Atlantis. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Zelenka enter the control room and sit at one of the consoles and she hoped that he'd find what happened. "Why don't we sit on the sofa and I read you a story. I think I need a break."

They read The Princess and the Pea, and then Abby decided that she wanted to draw the princess. So, Elizabeth went back to her work, trying to not think about the team. She was reading the same sentence for the nth time when Zelenka knocked on the open door of her office.

"Radek, have a seat please. Do you have some news?"

"I'm afraid I don't know a lot more. There was a sort of energy surge that passed through the Gate and it closed just after that. I'll need to study it for a few more hours before I could tell you anything else."

"Could we dial the Gate?"

"I think so. I didn't detect any problem with the Gate itself."

"Thank you, Radek," she said, dismissing him, before standing up herself. "Abby, I want you to stay here, I'll be just there in the control room, ok?"

"Ok."

"Sergeant, dial the planet where Colonel Sheppard's team is, please."

"Yes, Doctor." He began the dialling sequence and soon enough, the wormhole formed.

"Is the MALP working?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We're receiving MALP telemetry as we're speaking."

"Open a channel."

"Already done, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Sergeant. This is Weir, Colonel, please respond. John?" she tried after a few seconds of silence. "Rodney, Teyla, Ronon? Is someone receiving me?"

"They may not be in range," Chuck tried to reassure his worried superior.

"I know. Close the Gate. Major Lorne?" she called him by radio. "Is your team ready?"

"Yes Ma'am. I take it you hadn't been successful with contacting them."

"No. Take a Jumper and try to find them."

"Understood."

She watched as the Gate came to life once more and the Jumper lowered in the Gateroom. It disappeared through the wormhole and she couldn't help but hope that they'd come back soon and with AR-1.

Meanwhile, aboard the Jumper, Lorne and his team unknowingly shared the same hope as their leader. Lorne piloted the Jumper, casting from time to time a side look towards the life scanner on the screen, though he knew his men were focused on it. They tried contacting them as soon as they arrived on the planet but with no luck.

"Sir?" Lieutenant Moore's voice piped up. "I think we're just above the energy source AR-1 was searching for."

"No sign of them?"

"No, sir," Captain Hawkins answered. "But it's possible they're too close to that energy for our sensors to pick them up."

"Does someone see something that could be emitting that energy?" A chorus of 'No Sir's could be heard in the Jumper and Lorne sighed.

"Sir, I think we've found something," Moore said, pointing to a section of the screen. "This might be an entrance of some sort. The energy source might be underground since there is nothing on the surface."

"Ok, then. I'll land the Jumper in that clearing and we'll go."

While landing the Jumper, Lorne somehow already knew that the team wouldn't be there; if the team was still on the planet, they would have stayed near the Gate instead of coming that far. But still, his team needed to investigate that energy source in case it was a ZPM, or they would find clues about AR-1's location.

After a fifteen minutes walk in the forest, they found the entrance; it was a sort of trapdoor on the ground, heavy enough that Lieutenant Tracer had to help Moore to open it. It was pitch-black down there and all they could see was the beginning of a staircase. They lit their torches and started to go down the stairs, Major Lorne taking the lead.

"Why is it so dark when there seems to be an energy source not far from there?" Hawkins wondered out loud, thus voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I can only guess that whoever built the place and hid whatever is emitting that energy didn't want it to be found easily," Lorne answered. "Ok, we have two different paths here," he said when they came to a fork. He continued, pointing to the left one, "We'll first go that way, and then if we don't find anything, we'll try the other."

It proved to be less easy than the team first thought; it was actually a labyrinth and with the lack of light, it was even more difficult. They met some dead-ends and to avoid being lost Lorne had ordered Moore to mark the way they were following with arrows on the walls.

"Do you think AR-1 might be lost in there?" Tracer asked the rest of the team as they met yet another dead-end.

"No, I don't think so. Colonel Sheppard would have done the same thing and mark their way and we haven't found anything like that."

"Maybe they were already lost when he had realised it?" Moore suggested as he drew another arrow on a wall.

"Why don't we stop thinking like that and concentrate on finding what we came for?" Hawkins snapped.

"I thought that we came to find Colonel Sheppard's team since they were answering their radios…"

"They're not on the planet anymore; otherwise they would have stayed near the Gate, right sir?"

"It's what I think too. We'll continue searching for another hour."

"And then?" Tracer asked

"Then we'll go back to the Jumper and Atlantis. We can't search the place forever by ourselves. If we don't find anything, we'll ask Doctor Weir to come back with at least two more teams as soon as possible."

"Can't we pick anything with the sensors we have?"

"I wish we could, Captain, but no," Moore answered. "I have a strong signal coming from the energy source but I can't tell from where it comes. The walls seem to prevent it as well as the labyrinth was conceived to lose those who don't know where it is exactly."

An hour later, Lorne called off the search and led his team towards the exit. It wasn't that long before they were out in the open and they could only guess that they retraced their steps more than they thought at first. Soon, they were back in the Jumper and in the air.

"Still no life signs," Lorne said after having taken a look at the screen he just brought up. Hawkins, dial the Gate and then send the IDC. It's time to go home."

"Yes, sir."

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was waiting, alone, in her office. After having heard what happened, or rather not happened, Kate had come and offered to take Abby with her for the rest of the day. The diplomat couldn't be more grateful of the psychiatrist's offer; at the moment she just couldn't answer Abby when she asked when her father would come home.

Somehow, she knew that Lorne's team would come back empty handed, but a part of her couldn't help but hope that she was wrong. As she was looking at the things she kept on her desk to keep her mind off of the team, her eyes came across the drawing Abby made that afternoon. She smiled at it, remembering how touched she was when Abby gave it to her; it was the first 'present' that the girl offered her and she would keep it preciously.

The Gate activation jolted her from her thoughts and she all but ran to the control room, stopping just behind Chuck to see who it was.

"It's Captain Hawkins's IDC."

"Lower the shield," she said before opening a channel between herself and Major Lorne. "Report immediately to my office, Major."

"Yes, Ma'am."

She went back to her office and sat on her chair, trying to wait as patiently as possible. From the corner of her eyes, she finally saw Lorne crossing the catwalk to her office, alone.

"Please, take a seat," she said, gesturing to the chairs in front of her.

"I hope you don't mind that I told my team to go to the infirmary…"

"Not at all, Major. I guess you stayed together all the time."

"Yes, Ma'am." He stopped, not really knowing how to tell her the rest. Finally, he decided to start with another part of the mission. "We searched for AR-1 and we've found the point of origin of the energy source. It was underground and thanks to the scanner in the Jumper, we've found an entrance. It was a labyrinth down there and we couldn't find what was emitting the energy. I suggested we go back with two other teams and continue the search."

"And for AR-1?" Elizabeth asked and she heard the young Major sigh as soon as she said the words.

"They're not there, Ma'am. We searched for them and tried contacting them by radio. I don't think they would have gone far from the Gate. I don't know where they are, but they're definitely not on that planet anymore."

 

 _To be continued_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 

Elizabeth had to take a deep breath before dismissing Lorne. She left her office after him and tried to maintain a professional façade while walking the corridors towards Kate's office. She had to take Abby back from her and tell the girl that her father wouldn't be home soon. She didn't know how she would react to that bit of news and wondered if Kate should be there just in case.

She arrived in front of the door to Kate's office and stared at it for a while. She nearly turned back but she knew she had to be the one to tell Abby and to take care of her in John's absence; she couldn't just run away from it as much as she'd want to at the moment. She finally knocked and entered the room when the psychiatrist told her to.

"Hey, Abby," she said, acknowledging the girl who was lying on the floor, drawing.

"Is Daddy here?" she asked, standing up and running towards Elizabeth who lifted her in her arms.

"Why don't we sit? I have something to tell you."

"Elizabeth?"

"It's ok, Kate, you can stay. Actually, I'd rather you stay." She stopped for a moment, trying to form words in her head while Abby was looking at her expectantly. "Sweetie… Daddy won't be here with us for a while," she finally said and she immediately saw tears welling up in the girl's eyes.

"Why? He doesn't love me anymore?" she sniffed.

"No, Abby, Daddy loves you so much. It's just…" She paused, tears in her eyes. "Daddy and his friends, you know Rodney, Teyla and Ronon they… They got lost and they'll need some time to come back, ok?"

"When?"

"I don't know… It may take time, but they'll come back as soon as they can." She stayed silent for a moment, watching as Abby's fist curled up her t-shirt in a firm grip. She was clearly trying to keep her tears at bay and failing, as well as herself. "Why don't you draw something for Daddy so you can give it to him once he comes home?" Abby nodded slightly and Elizabeth put her down. She took back her place on the floor while Kate came to sit on the sofa beside Elizabeth, handing her a box of tissues. "Thank you."

"You're welcome…" She continued her voice lower so that Abby couldn't catch what they were saying. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"We still don't know. Major Lorne just said that they weren't there."

"But where are they if they're neither on Atlantis nor on this planet?" Kate thought out loud. Elizabeth was about to answer her when her radio crackled and then came to life.

"Doctor Weir?"

"Yes, Radek?"

"I might be onto something. Could you come to the labs, please?"

"I'll be right there. Kate, would you mind keeping Abby for a while longer?"

"Not at all..."

"I want to come with you!" Abby cried, latching onto Elizabeth's legs.

"Fine. But don't touch anything, ok?"

"Ok."

"Here," Kate handed Abby her things. She then turned towards the other woman. "If you need anything…"

"Thanks, Kate. I will."

With one last smile towards her friend, she left the room. Kate watched as the door closed behind her and sighed. Despite what she said, she knew that Elizabeth wouldn't come to her; she knew the woman and knew that she's not really one to confide in someone else. Girls' poker nights were the exception; and yet she didn't really tell them what was on her mind. Kate tried to talk to Elizabeth a few times, during John's ordeal with the retrovirus or after she was possessed by that alien entity, but she always told her that she was fine and didn't need to talk. She could only hope now that the team would come back soon, for both their sakes and Abby and Elizabeth's.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Abby arrived in the labs and spotted Zelenka towards the back.

"So, what do you have for me?" she asked while she helped Abby sit on one of the stools.

"I'm sorry it took that long but I wanted to be sure."

"And?" She was becoming impatient and though usually the calmness he emitted would soothe her, this day it was the entire contrary.

"You remember I told you I wanted to study that surge we got just before the Gate closed? Well, I still don't know what exactly did it but I can only guess it came from the planet."

"The energy source they were searching for?"

"Maybe… I won't be able to tell until I examine it myself."

"It might take some time. Lorne's team hadn't found it yet."

"Anyway, I don't know if you remembered but the SGC gave us access to all their files just in case we'd find ourselves in a situation similar to one they already had."

"So, you've found something?"

"Do you remember how they had found the second Gate? The one that was in Antarctica?"

"Colonel Carter and General O'Neill gated there instead of the SGC, right?"

"Yes. Because of an energy surge coming from the planet they were dialling out." Once Radek said those words, everything clicked into place in Elizabeth's mind.

"You mean that because of that energy surge, they were transferred elsewhere?"

"That's it."

"But where? We don't have a second gate in Atlantis…"

"No. But before they found out that Colonel Carter and General O'Neill were on Earth, they thought they could be on any planet along the wormhole that was opened between P4A-771 and Earth."

"And you think that's what happened with AR-1 too."

"It's the most plausible explanation."

"How many planets do we have then?"

"Thirty. I know it seems to be a lot but they are all planets referenced in the Ancient database and that have Stargates."

"Then I want the list on my desk first thing in the morning."

"Here. I've already done it," he said, handing her a sheet of paper.

"Thank you, Radek. Could you send one to Major Lorne? He's in charge until John comes back."

"Already done too."

"You sure, they can't be anywhere else?" she asked, wanting to explore every possibility.

"I don't think so. The wormhole had to discharge itself somewhere close to its original route."

"But why haven't they come back yet?"

"Maybe they can't access the Gate for the moment, or maybe they have problems with their DHD."

"Or maybe they're hurt…," Elizabeth whispered, voicing her fears.

"Maybe. We won't know until we find them so don't think the worst."

"I try, Radek, I try. Thanks. Have a good evening."

"You too, Doctor Weir," he said, watching her leaving with Abby. He turned towards Rodney's work bench and sighed; he had to admit he kind of missed him.

After leaving the labs, Abby and Elizabeth, with Sedge still in tow, went to the commissary but neither of them was really hungry. The diplomat forced some of her food down to show the girl the example but thinking about the missing team made her lose her appetite. Across from her, Abby too was more playing with her food than eating; even the prospect of getting chocolate cake for dessert couldn't help her eat.

Twenty minutes later, they left the commissary, more food left in their trays than in their stomach. Once in their quarters, Elizabeth gave Abby her bath before putting her to bed. She read her a story and when she left the room, the girl was sleeping, Sedge at the foot of her bed. In her room, she half sat, half laid down on her bed, the list of planets Radek gave her in her hands. She knew it would take time to find them because they could just open the Gate to one of these planets and try contacting the team by radio: they could be out of range. She would have to send teams in Jumpers to search a rather large area around the Gate, hoping that they would find them as soon as possible.

She was interrupted in her thoughts by the door of her bedroom sliding open, revealing Abby in a half-sleeping state, her Teddy in her arms. She climbed onto the bed and Elizabeth held the covers open so she could settle beneath them. The girl cuddled against her and she couldn't help but smile at the sight. Elizabeth put the list on the bedside table and laid down, putting one of her arms around Abby.

"It's going to be ok...," she whispered against her hair, kissing her there in the process. "Daddy will be home soon, I promise."

She knew she shouldn't make that type of promise but she couldn't help herself. And it was as much for Abby as it was for herself; she needed to believe that John would come back soon, otherwise she couldn't help Abby.

Just as she was ready to turn off the light, she saw her dog waiting expectantly by the bed and she had to smile at that. Any other time, Sedge would have already jumped onto the bed and taken her place at her side but these last few weeks, things had changed; it wasn't just the two of them anymore, there were John and Abby too. With a nod, she encouraged her dog to join them and Sedge obeyed immediately.

Switching off the bedside lamp, Elizabeth remembered that night at the SGC when she woke up to find John there and she couldn't help but hope that it would repeat itself that night.

The next morning, Elizabeth and Lorne were in the briefing room with three teams, giving them their last instructions. They would each take a Jumper and search a planet that day, in the hope that AR-1 would be there. There were no questions after the two leaders' speeches, everyone knew the objectives of these missions and knew that the sooner they'd depart, the better it would be.

Elizabeth watched them leave from the balcony of the control room before joining Abby in her office. She stopped at the door, watching the girl sat in her chair, and drawing. She had to smile at that sight; she barely reached the edge of the desk.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked, coming to stand just behind Abby.

"It's for Daddy," she simply answered, putting the final touches to it. "You like?" she asked, showing it to Elizabeth.

"It's beautiful. And I'm sure Daddy would like it too."

"Lizzie?"

"Mmh mmh?" she mumbled while searching for something on her desk.

"Can I learn how to write?"

"You want to?" Elizabeth looked up, surprised and she watched as she nodded excitedly in response. "Then I should teach you. Ok, let me sit." Abby jumped off the chair and once the woman was settled in her chair, she sat on her lap. "We're going to start with the alphabet," she continued, taking a sheet of paper.

She then started to write each letter down, both in capital and small, naming them as she was doing so. Abby tried to copy them as best as she could and Elizabeth had to admit that for a first time, it wasn't bad. She knew she was no teacher and that it wouldn't be easy to teach the young girl how to write, but she also knew that one day or another she and John would have to teach her since there was no teacher in Atlantis.

By the end of the day, Abby knew her alphabet, even though she still had some difficulties with a few letters. Elizabeth felt proud of both herself and Abby for having achieved this in just a few hours. She had to interrupt their lesson thrice when the teams came back empty from the planets they were assigned too; they still hadn't any news on AR-1. After a light dinner, neither of them was really hungry, they went back to their quarters. Once more, Abby slept in Elizabeth's bed, both trying to take some comfort from the other's presence.

They went on like this for two more days before an unscheduled gate activation had Elizabeth running out of her office after having told Abby to stay there.

"Who is it?" she asked Chuck but he just shrugged; no IDC had been sent yet.

"It's Doctor McKay's IDC," he finally announced, a smile in his voice.

"Lower the shield," she said, sighing in relief. She was at the top of the staircase, ready to go down to meet the team when McKay came through the Gate.

"We need a med team!" he shouted while turning towards the Gate.

The smile she had fell from Elizabeth's face when she next saw Ronon coming through, John lying across his shoulders, Teyla in tow. She went down the stairs in a rush while the Satedan carefully laid him on the floor; she could see blood splattering his uniform and his face was pale. Elizabeth resisted the urge to kneel beside him, wanting to assess his condition, but the medical team, Carson first, entered the gate room and started their work on John.

"Daddy!!"

Elizabeth turned in time to see Abby running down the stairs, probably having seen him from her office. She caught her around the waist and lifted her in her arms before she could reach her father, not wanting the young girl to see what happened. She felt her struggle against her, desperately wanting to be put down. "Calm down, Abby, Daddy's going to be fine but you can't see him right now." She continued to try calming her by whispering some words, while turning them away from John's unmoving form.

"Elizabeth…" Rodney started and for the first time she noticed he was cradling his left arm.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I dialled Atlantis but we gated to another planet instead, and I don't know why."

"Doctor Zelenka has a theory about it. But what happened on this planet?"

"Wraith," Ronon simply said and it was enough for Elizabeth to understand.

"Ok, he's stable," she heard Carson say, "we're moving him to Op Room 1."

They rushed from the Gate room and she followed immediately, Abby still in her arms, and the rest of AR-1 in tow. She knew that even though she left no orders that the personnel in the control room knew what to do.

Once in the infirmary, she went to the observation room, while nurses stopped Ronon, Teyla and Rodney to examine them. She hadn't noticed it, her mind focused on the man she saw lying in the room beneath her. Even though her arms were starting to kill her, she didn't want to put the girl down; she needed her as close to her as possible at the moment.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she saw Carson enter the operation room, ready for the surgery. She knew that Abby shouldn't be there, but she couldn't part herself from her and she knew that the girl wouldn't want to be left alone somewhere else.

"Abby shouldn't be here," Teyla said in her soothing voice, voicing Elizabeth's previous thoughts.

"I know…" She turned towards the two Pegasus natives who entered the observation room and silently wondered where the last member of the team was.

"McKay broke his arm," Ronon answered even though she hadn't asked out loud. She had to smile at the fact that he probably already knew her better than she knew him. "He has to have a cast."

"What happened?"

"Like we told you earlier," Teyla started to relate, "we gated to another planet instead of Atlantis. A Wraith stronghold. They were guarding the Gate and they had weapons we've never encountered before. They were defiantly not stunners. John was hurt before we could take cover. He kept insisting he was fine but he lost a lot of blood."

"We had to retreat," Ronon continued. "Wraith were searching for us and we had a few close-calls. It was in one of those that McKay broke his arm. But for once, he said nothing."

"He was probably worried about Colonel Sheppard's condition," Teyla guessed and Elizabeth could only agree with her.

"By the time we could make it back to the Gate, Sheppard had already collapsed. We managed to take down the two Wraith who were guarding the Gate and dialled Atlantis. You know the rest."

"Yes. Thank you, both of you."

"You said earlier that Doctor Zelenka had an explanation as to why we gated to another planet?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth to answer the Athosian's question when she heard a long beep. Teyla and Ronon just had time to see shock written on her face before she turned back towards the glass looking down at the operation room.

"Oh God, please no," they heard her whisper while they watched the medics bustle about John.

They both knew what it meant; John's heart just stopped. Coming closer to the window, they saw Beckett and his team trying to revive him. Teyla turned her head towards the diplomat and could see her clutching a clueless Abby to her. The girl rested her head against Elizabeth's shoulder and was looking straight ahead, seemingly blocking out sounds around her since she hadn't reacted to what was happening. The Athosian leader reached out a hand to rest it on her friend's arm, trying to show her some comfort.

Turning her head to the other side, she saw Ronon looking straight ahead too and wondered what was going on in this mind of his. Lowering her gaze, she noticed that he was clenching his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white.

She turned back to the window when she heard a faint, steady beep coming from the operation room; John's heart was beating again. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding as Carson looked up towards them, a look of relief on what she could see of his face.

Beside her, Elizabeth left her post there to go sit on one of the chairs of the room, her legs finally giving way. She shifted Abby on her lap so that the girl was sitting sideways and put her chin on the top of her head. Knowing that Ronon would keep his vigil, Teyla went towards Elizabeth and sat down next to her.

"You ok?"

"I will be," Elizabeth said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"Can I get you something? Some water, maybe?"

"No thanks."

"When can I see Daddy?" Abby asked, leaning her head up to look at her step-mother.

"Soon, honey, soon. Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"I'm hungry."

"Then, what do you want me to bring you?" Teyla asked, but the girl just shrugged in response.

"It's nearly dinner time," Elizabeth replied, looking at her watch. "Bring her a tray of food from the commissary. And don't forget the dessert."

"You sure you don't want to eat something?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. She probably won't finish her plate, anyway, right?" She looked at Abby but she just ignored her.

"Very well," Teyla said before leaving the room.

Silence fell in the room, the three of them being too preoccupied by John's condition to start a discussion. Ronon was still turned towards the window and even though Elizabeth would like to know what was happening, she knew she couldn't bear what happened twice.

When Teyla came back a few minutes later, she noticed that the Satedan hadn't moved at all from his position. He might have not acknowledged her, but she knew he was aware of her presence in the room. She put the tray on a chair beside Abby and took some time to observe the other woman of the room. Elizabeth's head was hung low, as if she was trying to close herself from the world around her.

Before she could talk to her, Rodney, his left arm now in a cast, entered the room, looking worried.

"How's it going?"

"Doctor Beckett and his team are still operating on him," Teyla answered when it was clear no one else would do so. "How's your arm?"

"Broken in two places but nothing too serious."

Teyla was once more surprised to see the scientist acting like that. Usually, when he had nothing more that a scratch he couldn't stop complaining and today he said nothing. He did worry about John a lot, the only other time she remembered seeing him like that was during John's mutation.

Rodney McKay was not known for showing his feelings, it was actually all the contrary, but as she was watching him now, sitting on the other side of Elizabeth with an arm draped across her shoulders, Teyla understood once more that it was just a façade, like most of them had.

"They're done." Ronon's voice jolted everyone from their thoughts.

They knew that Carson was going to come and see them, and they hoped he would have good news. They waited for a good ten minutes before the doctor entered the room, an unreadable expression on his face; that worried them even more.

"We've nearly lost him…"

"What? When?"

"His heart had stopped for a moment, Rodney," Carson answered, surprised that no one had told him that. "Anyway, he lost a lot of blood because of the haemorrhage. We managed to stop it and fix the damage the weapon did. We should all be grateful that it didn't hit a major organ, otherwise I don't know if he would have survived."

"But he's going to be ok?" Rodney wanted to know.

"Yes." With that single word, the doctor knew that he relieved all the adults in the room.

"Can we see him?" Teyla asked.

"He won't wake up till tomorrow. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep and come back tomorrow morning."

Without a protestation, because they knew it wouldn't help, Rodney, Teyla and Ronon left the room. Carson let out a little sigh when he saw that Elizabeth had stayed behind with Abby. The girl was done with her dinner and by Elizabeth's side, hugging onto her leg tightly.

"You could really use a good night's sleep too, love. He'll still be there tomorrow." Although Carson knew she wouldn't easily buy it, he had to try. He could pull his CMO status and order her out of here but he also knew that she would come back as soon as she could. "Fine. You two can stay but I hope that you get a few hours sleep at least. And I want you to finish that tray, Elizabeth. It won't be much but I don't think I could convince you to eat a proper meal, right?"

"Thank you, Carson."

"No need to. I understand how you might feel." He left the room after a last smile to the diplomat.

"Can we go see Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetie. But I need to eat something first, otherwise Carson won't be happy. And once we are with Daddy, you'll have to stay quiet, because he needs to sleep and we don't want to wake him up, ok?"

"Ok. Lizzie?"

"Mmh?" the concerned simply said, her mouth full.

"I left my drawings for Daddy in your office…"

"Then, we'll go there first."

Once Elizabeth was done, they left for her office to retrieve Abby's drawings after a nurse offered to take the tray back to the mess hall. They then returned to the infirmary where they sat on a chair beside John's bed after Abby dropped a kiss on his forehead. Elizabeth could help but let a few tears fall when she saw him lying there; she had been really scared when his heart stopped and had thought that that was it, that he had finally run out of luck. But now, he was going to be fine.

She felt her eyelids beginning to droop and she had just the time to look down at Abby, who was already sleeping, before she succumbed to sleep herself. The last few days had been distressing with the team's disappearance and she hadn't slept as well as she would have liked. But now that they were back and Carson had assured her that John was going to be fine, all the tension fell down and she could finally rest.

After they had left the infirmary, Rodney went to his lab; even though he wouldn't admit it, he was dying to know what Radek had found on the Gate malfunction. The Czech scientist was still there, his back to the door and he turned when his colleague entered.

"How's Colonel Sheppard?" he asked immediately.

"Beckett said he's going to be fine."

"Your arm?"

"Itchy. So, what did you find? Elizabeth told me you had found the reason why we gated to there instead of here in Atlantis."

"Yes, yes. Did you remember when during their first year, Colonel Carter and General O'Neill where sent to Antartica?"

"I think I've read something about that, why?"

"Well then you don't remember why they were sent to a different gate than Doctor Jackson and Teal'c…"

"Yes, yes, yes," Rodney finally understood, snapping his fingers. "They had an energy peak and the Alpha Gate was damaged. After the first two went through it closed and the wormhole discharged itself on the Beta Gate. But wait, our Gate wasn't damaged, right?"

"No. But we registered an energy surge of some sort…"

"It came from the planet. I noticed it just before we went through, but I didn't think it was dangerous."

"Well, it was in a way. I gave it some thought after I had told Doctor Weir my theory. I think the Atlantis Gate couldn't withstand it and maybe the Ancients conceived some sort of failsafe in that case. So the wormhole was redirected to another Gate close to its original route."

"Wait, there's a problem here. Why the gate here couldn't withstand that energy? And why another one could?"

"I don't know," Radek had to admit. "Maybe there's something about it in the database and we haven't found it yet."

"Maybe…" An idea started to form in Rodney's mind. "Yes, that has to be it. Maybe the Ancients created that sort of failsafe so that if the Wraith started bombarding their gate with an energy of some sort…"

He stopped there but Radek got the main idea and had to say that Rodney was probably right; it was the most plausible idea. But there was still a problem…

"Wait. If it comes from the energy you picked up on the planet how come Major Lorne's team could have return safely back there?"

"The DHD!" they both exclaimed at the same time before Radek continued.  
"You used the DHD but Major Lorne's Team went there in a Jumper, so they used the Jumper DHD…"

"The DHD was the first conductor, then the Gate. But since Major Lorne hadn't used the DHD on the planet, the Gate couldn't receive the same energy spike and they hadn't had a problem to gate to Atlantis."

"But it's still just a theory. We must find something in the database to corroborate it."

"It has to be it. How could you explain what happened otherwise?"

"I can't Rodney, I can't."

They both sat down in front of the computer and, despite the hour and Rodney's broken arm, they started to search the Ancient database for some sort of information.

Meanwhile, Teyla couldn't sleep and went to one of the balconies of the East Pier to seek some fresh air. The night wasn't cold but she was still feeling a bit chilly; she put that under the last events. The sky there showed the same stars as when she was on Athos with her people but still, it felt different. Her life was different since she met John and the rest of the expedition. Aiden, to whom she was pretty close, had left and she didn't even know if he was still alive, she didn't live with her people anymore even though they still saw her as their leader, and she found out that she had Wraith DNA in her genetic make-up.

This was where Ronon found her a while later. He was coming back from the mess hall after a midnight snack when he noticed her on the balcony. He took a moment to observe her and decide whether or not to join her before his hand opened the door on its own volition.

Teyla turned as she heard the door sliding open and was surprised to see Ronon standing there. She beckoned him to come closer before she turned back to look at the sky once again. She heard his footsteps as he walked towards the railing and mimicked her position. They stayed silent for a long moment, neither one a huge speaker usually, and neither feeling the need to speak at the moment.

Looking at the stars, Ronon couldn't help but wonder if Sateda was one of them. He wondered what life could have been if the Wraith hadn't come and destroyed everything, culling and killing his friends and family in the process. What if he hadn't become a Runner, what his life would have been. He probably would have never met those he considered his friends today. After having spent seven years running from the Wraith, gating from planet to planet everyday and sometimes more than once a day, he hadn't thought he would have settled somewhere easily. But then, he would never have thought that he could be free again one day.

It wasn't that easy for him to settle here on Atlantis, to realize that the Wraith wasn't that big of a threat for him now. But he managed and that was thanks to John and Teyla mainly. They accepted him in their team and as a friend quite easily given the circumstances under which they had met. He had found a home again and for that he was grateful to them.

"You alright?" Teyla asked him, jolting him from his thoughts.

"Yeah. I was just thinking. What are you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep after all that happened."

"It's understandable."

"I can't even begin to imagine how Doctor Weir must have felt these last few days. Especially since she had to keep a good face for Abby."

"She's a strong woman and a leader, just like you, Teyla. She knows what we're up against."

"You came to respect her a lot, don't you?"

Instead of answering her, he turned away and looked once more towards the starry sky. If he wasn't sure Elizabeth was fit for the job in the first times of his arrival, she showed him more than once that it was all the contrary. Without her, he was sure Atlantis would fall apart; she was the one who managed to mend the fences between the civilian and military members of the expedition.

"She and you are the same. You both place your people's safety before yours. This is why they came to respect you…"

"Despite the fact that we're both women," Teyla finished for him, and he didn't correct her. She understood why he thought that; in this galaxy as well as any other, it wasn't that easy for a woman to lead men. But both Elizabeth and she had proved everybody wrong. They showed them that they could lead their people as well as any man.

"I don't think I've ever thanked you or Sheppard for what you did to me, for trusting me," he said, changing the subject. "So thanks."

It wasn't much, but Teyla knew that the Satedan wasn't a man who liked to show his feelings. She was touched by his words and turned towards him, enjoining him to do the same. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she placed her forehead against his. They stayed like this for more time than was necessary and when they moved away, they shared a small smile.

"I should probably go back to my quarters. Good night, Ronon."

"Good night," he replied, watching her leave the balcony. He turned back to the Lantean Ocean, thinking of all the things he lost, but also those he had won since he met John and Teyla.

He had lost the most important thing to him when Sateda was attacked by the Wraith, and if he could never forget, maybe, just maybe, there was a chance to start another life, here in Atlantis. Then, maybe he should try.

Carson was about to leave the infirmary when he saw Elizabeth and Abby sleeping in the chair beside John's bed. It couldn't be comfortable for either of them, but he didn't have the heart to wake them up. And the Colonel would probably be happy to see them at his waking.

Despite the fact that he was hungry, Carson decided to go to his quarters and forget about his stomach; it was already past midnight and he was dead on his feet, he needed sleep and the rest could wait until the morning. Opening the door to his quarters, he smiled as he saw Laura asleep on the cover. She had probably have been waiting for him to come back and fallen asleep without really noticing.

He sat on the bed beside her and put a hand on her hair, stroking it gently. She woke up slowly and smiled when she saw him there. Sitting up, she kissed him lightly on the lips before snuggling in his arms.

"How's Colonel Sheppard?" she asked and even though he should feign being hurt, he wasn't surprised that she was concerned about her superior's wellbeing.

"He's going to be fine. Elizabeth and Abby are sleeping in the infirmary, they didn't want to leave him."

"I understand that. I wouldn't leave if you were the one lying on that bed. How are you?" she asked him although she saw the dark circles beneath his eyes.

"I'm tired. I should probably have left sooner but I had all this paperwork waiting for me. I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

"Don't be. But I hope you don't mind me staying here tonight…" She stopped seeing the sly look spread on Carson's face. "Shake that thought off, mister. Neither of us is up for this tonight. No pun intended."

"Of course…" As if he believed her with the look she gave him. "Ok then, just sleep. I'm ok with that actually. I feel like I could sleep for a week." As they were talking, they changed into their nightwear, well at least Carson. "Not that I mind, but you really have to sleep in nothing at all?"

"Hey, it's not my fault if I'd rather sleep naked. And usually, I don't hear you complaining," she added with a smug smile.

"Because usually, I'm not too tired to enjoy it."

They settled in bed and Laura snuggled as close as possible to her lover, both of them needing the proximity. Despite his tiredness, Carson couldn't help but think about how lucky he was to have Laura; he would never have thought that a girl like her would go with a guy like him.

"Carson, stop thinking and sleep," Laura whispered in the darkness of the room and he chuckled; she knew him so well already.

Yes, like he told his mother, he wouldn't let this one go, she meant just too much for him to do that. His left arm draped across her waist tightened its hold on her as he put his head against hers.

"I love you."

"Back at you," she just muttered, sleep already claiming her.

The next morning, when Carson entered his infirmary, he noticed that Elizabeth and Abby had moved onto the bed next to John's; the woman had probably awoken during the night and figured that they would be more comfortable than on the chair. Trying not to wake them, he went to check on his patient's vitals, relieved when he found out that they were better than the night before.

A few minutes after he left, John started to stir, causing Elizabeth to wake up slowly. The fog in her mind disappeared and she finally understood what was happening. With a huge smile on her face, she rose from the bed and went to her companion's side, taking one of his hands in hers. He opened his eyes completely after a few tries and saw her. He opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him, a hand on his arm.

"Shh. Drink some water first," she said, handing him the cup.

He took a few sips under her constant scrutiny before turning his head away.

"I should probably get Carson," she started but this time it was his turn to stop her.

"What happened?"

"To cut a long story short, you were injured on the planet. When your team brought you back, you were in a serious condition. We nearly lost you," she said, her voice full of tears. "You scared us."

"I'm sorry. You stayed here all night?" he asked, noticing Abby still sleeping on the other bed.

"Neither Abby nor I wanted to leave you. Not after…" She paused, not sure if she should tell him.

"Not after what, Elizabeth?"

"During the surgery… Your heart stopped, John. I thought…" She finally let her tears fall and John beckoned her to come closer so he could hug her.

"Shh, it's ok, I'm here now."

Breaking the embrace, Elizabeth put her forehead against John's. They stayed like this, looking into each other's eyes and sharing a kiss here and there, until a small voice interrupted them.

"Lizzie?"

"Hey, sweetie," Elizabeth said, moving away from John and turning to face Abby. "Look who's awake."

As soon as she saw her father, Abby's eyes lit up and she jumped off the bed, asking Elizabeth to help her climb onto her father's.

"Be careful, ok?" she told the girl who nodded in response. "Good. Now, I'm going to find Carson. He'll probably want to run a few exams on you."

As she left them, she heard Abby starting to recount the last few days to her father. Carson was in his office, a stack of paperwork sitting on his desk, already engrossed in one of them. She entered the room, knocking softly on the doorjamb as she did so.

"And I've already done at least a third of them last night," he sighed nodding to the pile.

"I understand, believe me."

"Yeah, I know. So, what can I do for you, lass?"

"John's awake. I thought you would like to see him."

"I'm coming right away. You might want to tell Rodney, Ronon and Teyla, too."

"I'm going to radio them."

She smiled at him and they left the office. As she was radioing the team, Carson could see that the worry lines she had on her face for the last few days weren't there any more. They reached the bed just as Abby gave her drawings to her father. They hung back for a moment, watching them interact before John noticed them and beckoned them closer.

"How are you feeling, lad?"

"A bit tired, but otherwise I'm okay. When will I be released?"

"You made that sound as if you were imprisoned," Elizabeth said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Well, you gotta admit that we can't do a lot of things when we're stuck in the infirmary… So, doc?"

"Son, you have to understand that you lost a lot of blood and we nearly lost you during the surgery. You're going to stay there for at least three to four days."

"Do I have to?" John groaned; it's not as if he hated the infirmary, but like he told Elizabeth it was easy to get bored here.

"I'm sorry but yes. I don't want to risk an infection or some other problem. And before you ask, about the missions, you'll have to wait at least two weeks. And I'll have to clear you personally," he added as an afterthought, knowing his patient.

"It's not like I really have a choice, right?"

"No," Carson answered just as the rest of his team entered the infirmary.

"Is your patient already bothering you?"

"Not as much as you can, McKay," John threw him back.

"I'm not asking every five minutes when I can go," Rodney replied before realising that maybe he shouldn't have said that.

"No, of course, you act like a crying baby for every single scratch you get."

"That is not true! Carson, tell him."

"Gentlemen," Elizabeth said, thus saving the doctor from a delicate situation.

"We're glad you're awake, John" Teyla said for herself as well as for Ronon.

"Thanks, guys. And thank you for bringing me back."

"That's what a team is for," Ronon simply replied.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Elizabeth started, "I probably have paperwork waiting for me." She paused before adding. "But first, I'm going to the mess hall for some breakfast," knowing that both Carson and John would have said something. "Abby, you coming?"

"No, I want to stay with Daddy!"

"He needs to rest…," she tried but John interrupted her.

"It's ok. She can stay, if Beckett sees no problem with it."

"That's fine with me. I'll send a nurse for two breakfasts, then," he said, leaving to do so.

"Ok, then. See you later you two," Elizabeth said, leaning in to kiss him lightly on the lips and Abby on the cheek.

"We're coming with you," Teyla told her, following the diplomat with Ronon and Rodney.

"Daddy?" Abby started once they were alone.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I like Lizzie," she said as if agreeing with her father's choice.

"And I'm glad you like her, because I really really like her. I know it's not easy for you, Abby, but Elizabeth will never try to replace your mom or Dinah. She just wants you to see her as someone you can count on if anything happens."

"What if one day you die like Mommy?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I guess it'll depend whether or not you want to stay here with Elizabeth or go back to Earth with Dinah. But let's not talk about that now. So, why don't you and Sedge go ask Carson if he doesn't have a stack of cards in his office so we can play?"

"Ok."

She jumped off the bed and he followed her with his eyes as she left with the dog, trying to find the doctor. Abby's last question surprised him, even though it shouldn't have; he always knew that his daughter was realistic. She knew her mother wouldn't come back and that she only had her father now, despite Elizabeth and Dinah's presences in her life.

One day, and the sooner, the better, he would have to talk about this with both the women. If anything happened to him, and yesterday it came really close to that, he should ensure that Abby would be taken care of, just like Clare did.

Seeing his daughter coming back with Sedge in tow, he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind. That could wait, for the moment he was going to enjoy spending time with his family.

 

 _Epilogue_

 

Dinah,

Yeah I know, it takes a long time for a letter to reach us and vice versa but we have no other way to communicate. The three of us are fine, thanks, and I'm glad you now have a boyfriend. Just tell him that if he hurts you, I'm going to have to talk to him, and you know that by talk I mean something else. Uh, just a question though, could I easily beat him alone or should I ask a friend of mine to come with me?

As you can see, Abby learned to write and she wanted to write you a letter on her own. She had asked Elizabeth to teach her one day, and since then everyday or so, we teach her how to read and write. It's not easy for neither us nor Abby but we have fun and wouldn't have it any other way (and couldn't anyway).

I wish I could tell you more about our location or our job, but you know I can't. Maybe one day, I'll be able to but for the moment it's a big no-no. Anyway, don't worry, both Elizabeth and I take good care of Abby and won't let anything happen to her. I wish you could see her these days. The first times were difficult because she had to adapt to a new place and to Elizabeth at the same time, but now it's getting better and better everyday. She usually stays with Elizabeth since she can keep an eye on her more easily than me, and she told me not so long ago that she'd like us to stay together. As if I would ever consider leaving her.

You remember that day when Clare and you asked me why I've never stayed more than a few weeks with the same woman, if not only days. I don't quite remember what I had answered you that day, though it would have been along the "I don't stay at the same place long enough" lines, but now, I think I have the right answer. Maybe I was just waiting for the one. I know it sounds totally cliché and so not like me, but I think it's true. During the first few months after we met, I had a quite strenuous working relationship with Elizabeth; we even butted heads a few times actually. But then things changed and we became friends. And things evolved again until we naturally took the next step towards a relationship. Things are not always simple because we're both strong-minded but I love her.

You probably wonder why I'm telling you this. I wanted to wait till I can talk to you face to face, but our job is very demanding and I don't know when we'll be able to come back to the States. A few weeks ago, something went wrong and I nearly died. You have to understand that I can't tell you more on this. The thing is that after I woke up Abby asked me something quite unsettling. She wanted to know what will happen to her if I were to die. I had no other answer to her than 'I don't know'. I hadn't really thought about it before she asked me and I guess it was a mistake since I know that my job might be dangerous. So I gave it a few thoughts and I think I might have found a solution. Whether or not it's the best one, I don't really know. So here it is. I want Elizabeth to adopt Abby officially. I haven't told her yet because I wanted to run it by you first and I wanted to ask her something else. And I'm guessing the big grin on your face. Yes, me John Sheppard is going to pop the question. Can you imagine this? Anyway, about the adoption thingy, I wanted you to know and to be ok with this first; your Abby's godmother and Clare's best friend and I wouldn't want to do something that you wouldn't agree with.

To change the subject, we hope to be able to come visit you soon. Abby misses you. But like I told you, it's not easy with our job. It should at least be possible for us to come around Christmas. I'll keep you posted about it.

Well, I should go. Elizabeth took her afternoon off after Abby and I begged her to and we promised Abby we were going to… somewhere. Sorry, I can't tell you more or I'll have to shoot you. Kidding. And you probably have tons of things to do as well as always (do you ever stop?).

Hoping to see you soon

Abby, Elizabeth & John.

Dinah smiled as she folded the letter and put it back in its envelope. She might not know what John and Elizabeth were really up to, but she understood that their job could be dangerous; John had told her so when they were here. She guessed she couldn't help but be concerned about Abby's safety there but there wasn't much she could do. She didn't even have the heart to prevent John from asking Elizabeth to adopt his daughter. It took her only an instant to appreciate the other woman and she knew she would make a good mother for Abby; she probably already was.  
What only mattered to her was Abby's happiness and she was glad to know that Elizabeth and she bonded. They were a family and she was just an aunt, as she always was and always will be.

 

Fini


End file.
